The Vampire Diaries Next Generation Season One
by RoniCullen
Summary: After being cursed by a witch, the vampires are able to have children. Not wanting to put them in danger, they place their children in foster families and leave Mystic Falls for good. But when you're parents have done that much in Mystic Falls, you are never safe for long...
1. Pilot

**A/N I've written a Vampire Diaries fanfiction before, but this is the first one where it's not going on during the actual show. I hope you guys like it. Please review, I really want to know what you think! **

**The Vampire Diaries couples for this fanfiction are: **

**Damon/Elena**

**Stefan/Caroline**

**Matt/Bonnie**

**Jeremy/April **

**Tyler/Liv **

**Alaric/Meredith **

**Klaus/Hayley**

**And now, without further ado, I present the Pilot episode! **

* * *

Elena sat crying in Damon's arms. Damon was doing his best to comfort her, but failing, mostly because he felt like she looked. Finally, Elena scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve and looked up.

"We need to leave. For our kids' sakes, we need to go." She said, trying to keep the shake out of her voice. Damon sullenly nodded.

"I mean, we're vampires! We can't control our blood thirst and we'd be horrible parents going around killing people every other day… It's best for them!" She was trying to convince herself. Damon rubbed her back.

"We should go." He agreed. She started crying again. She wanted to stay with her daughter. She wanted to stay with her nephew, Jeremy's son. She just wanted to stay in Mystic Falls. But everyone else was right. This was what was best for their kids. And they would do it.

* * *

Seventeen year old Rose Salvatore opened her eyes at the sound of someone calling her name. There was a knock on her door.

"Rosie, come on, you're going to be late for school!" Her foster mom, Anne Lorne, called. Anne had made no attempt to hide the fact that Rose was adopted. She even kept Rose's true last name as sort of a family heirloom. Rose sat up in bed, her dark brown hair falling into her eyes.

"Okay!" She called back. She heard Anne descend the stairs. Rose climbed out of bed and went over to her closet. She quickly dressed in an off-white tunic shirt, black skinny jeans, knee high brown leather boots and a faded denim jacket. After her hair was brushed out and pulled back into a ponytail, she hurried out of her room and across the hallway to her brother's bedroom. Her younger brother was the only biological family she had left; he'd been dropped off by her biological parents when she was two. _At least they had the decency to let us have each other_, she thought bitterly.

"Grayson!" She knocked on the door. No answer. She hesitantly opened it and peeked in. His dark, messy bedroom was empty. She frowned and went downstairs into the kitchen, where Anne was making coffee.

"Hey, mom? Did you know that Grayson's gone?" Rose said. Anne handed her a cup of coffee before answering.

"Yeah, he headed to school already. Said something about finishing a project for woodshop." Rose gave Anne a long look. Anne sighed.

"There's no woodshop, is there?" Rose shook her head, mouthing 'no'. Anne nodded knowingly.

"Well, it's fine if he hangs out with Abby, Liv and Matt. At least he's not doing drugs." Anne said as Rose went to grab her book bag.

"True." Rose agreed. She slung her bag over her shoulder, wrapped a brown scarf around her neck and headed out. She jogged down to the sidewalk just in time to meet her two best friends, Lexi Salvatore and Victoria Donovan. Lexi was her biological cousin, but it to Rose it wasn't the same as having a tie to her real family. Lexi had been placed in a foster family as well. Actually, come to think of it, so was Victoria. And Victoria's older brother Jamie. And her younger sister Abby. And Liv Lockwood and her brother Luke Lockwood. And Rose's second cousin Alaric Gilbert and his younger brother, Matt Gilbert. And one of their best friends, Will Saltzman.

"Everyone one we're friends with has been in a foster family." Rose said suddenly as she thought about it. They started walking towards the school. They could drive, but they were close enough to the school that it was just simpler to walk together.

"Well that's a cheery way to start off a new school year." Victoria Donovan said sarcastically. Victoria was, supposedly, the only one in her three siblings to resemble her mother with dark skin, dark eyes and dark hair. Today she wore a white tank top with new jeans and a pink blazer.

"But she has a point. However, we will not talk about being in foster families any longer! Today is the start of a new school year and we shall treat it as such!" Lexi Salvatore said dramatic. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes and was an all around popular girl. Unlike most popular girls, however, she actually did have a heart. Today she wore a long, white tunic shirt with black leggings and brown ankle boots.

"Are we going to that bonfire party tonight?" Rose asked. Victoria and Lexi looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"OF COURSE!" They cried in unison and then laughed because it had happened. Rose laughed a little too.

"Should we allow the kids to come?" She asked. By 'kids' she meant Grayson, Abby, Liv and Matt. They were only two years younger, but to seventeen year olds, fifteen year olds were kids.

"Already told Abby she could come if she wanted to, so I'm sure she'll come with her backup." Victoria said. They all laughed again. If one of them was someplace, the other three would be following. They were in the school parking lot.

"Oooh! There's Jamie!" Lexi squealed as they neared the school. Victoria looked over at Lexi.

"I don't mind you crushing on my brother, but just try not to do it around me." Lexi didn't seem to hear her as she stared at Jamie. Jamie had blonde hair, blue eyes and was tall and muscular. He had to be; he was on the football team. He was talking to Luke Lockwood and Alaric Gilbert while they sat on one of the tables outside the school. Luke Lockwood had black hair and was just as tall and muscular. Alaric Gilbert had brown hair and was shorter than the others and skinny.

"Hey, girls!" They turned as Will Saltzman bounded up to them, a grin on his face. He was the same age as them with black hair, dark eyes and a tall, just as muscular build.

"Hey, Will." They returned. Rose gave him a hug as Lexi returned to staring at Jamie and Victoria checked her phone for the time.

"Class is about to start. Let's go." Victoria grabbed Lexi's arm and tugged her along as they entered the school. Will and Rose followed, talking about the bonfire party that night.

* * *

Elijah Mikaelson stood in the old Mikaelson Mansion. Technically he was Elijah Mikaelson the second, given that he also had an uncle by that name. His phone was on speaker-phone, resting on his dresser, as he button up his shirt in front of the mirror.

"_Okay, so what is there in Mystic Falls for you, E?_" His older sister, Hope Mikaelson, asked over the phone.

"I want a normal life, that's all." He explained. He could hear Hope's annoyed groan.

"_Really? Because I prefer staying with my family. Jeez, you are Klaus's son._"

"You're Klaus's daughter!" Elijah shot back.

"_Yeah, but we all know I took after mom. AHH!_" She suddenly screamed. He spun around towards the phone.

"_Sorry, accidentally set my curtain on fire. I'm still working on my witch-powers_." She explained.

"Mom wouldn't have set her curtains on fire."

"_Oh shut up, E!_"

"Whatever. I have to get to school."

"_Have a nice normal life. I'm going down to the werewolf camp today to see mom_."

"Say hi for me."

"_Of course. Bye, baby brother_."

"Don't call me that. Bye." Hope hung up. He tucked his phone into his pocket and headed towards school.

* * *

As Victoria, Lexi, Will and Rose rounded the corner, suddenly Lexi stopped. Everyone else bumped into her.

"What?" Victoria asked, fixing her hair and looking annoyed. Lexi pointed towards the front office.

"New student. Hot new student." Lexi said.

"What happened to my brother being hot?" Victoria demanded. Lexi was ignoring her as she smiled over at Rose. Rose rolled her eyes.

"You can only see his back, Lexi." She reminded her best friend. Lexi looked like she might start drooling.

"But he has a hot back!" Lexi shot back. Just then, there were the sounds of a fist fight in the next hallway. They hurried over to the next hallway to see Jamie, Luke, Matt and Grayson in a fist fight with the rest of the football team. Abby and Liv ran over to the girls and Will.

"The other guys started it!" Liv cried, her blonde hair falling down into her eyes. Abby had gone pale, making her brown hair and blue eyes stand out even more.

"Go get a teacher." Victoria ordered. She and Abby ran off together. Will and the girls hurried through the crowded that had gathered to watch. Will pulled a guy off from Grayson and decked him. Rose ran forward to help Grayson get back on his feet again.

"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly. Blood was dripping out of his nose and his lip looked busted. Suddenly one of the football players swung at Grayson again. A hand caught his fist. Rose looked at the new student in surprise. He shoved the player down to the floor, hard. Just then some teachers ran over to break up the others. Slowly, the crowd dispersed, seeing the fight was over. Liv ran over and snatched Grayson's hand, pulling him over to Abby and Matt. Rose turned to the new student again.

"Uh, thanks." She said.

"No problem. Elijah Mikaelson." He returned, sticking out a hand. She shook it.

"Rose Salvatore."

"Salvatore?" He asked in surprise. All the most exciting stories his father, Uncle Elijah and Aunt Rebekah had told him involved Salvatore's.

"Yeah. Familiar name?" Rose asked, almost hesitantly, like she didn't want the answer. He caught on quickly. She would have recognized the name 'Mikaelson' if she knew a lot about the supernatural world.

"No, just odd. You don't come across names like those anymore." He said. She gave him a weird look but quickly let it go.

"So you're new here, right?" She asked. He nodded.

"Then you don't know about the bonfire party, do you?" She asked.

"The what?" She laughed.

"It's a tradition at the school. We go into the woods, build a bonfire, get drunk and hope the cops don't come." She explained.

"Oh… Okay, then."

"Want to come? I can text you all the details." She offered.

"Sure. Here." He quickly scribbled down his number on an index card from his backpack and handed it to her. She smiled and took it.

"And here." She tore off the bottom empty half of the card and scribbled her own number on it before handing it back to him. He nodded.

"Thanks. We'd better get to class." He said as the bell rang. He hurried off as Lexi ran over to Rose.

"You already got his number?! Cool!" Lexi cried, bouncing up and down. Rose shot her a look.

"It's so I can text him the details about the party!"

"Sure…" Lexi said slowly, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively. Rose gave her a playful shove and they headed to class.

* * *

When Elijah got back to the mansion, the door was wide open. He frowned and walked in. He dropped his backpack by the bottom of the stairs and went to investigate. When he had cleared the house, he came back for his backpack. His older brother was examining the phone number Rose had given him, leaning against the doorframe.

"Wow… Already got a girlfriend. Impressive." He smirked.

"Marshall, what are you doing here?" Elijah demanded.

"Well, Hope told me where you'd run off to and I figured that I'd come check on my baby brother." Marshall said. Elijah shot him a look.

"Go back to New Orleans!"

"Now where is the hospitality?" Marshall pretended to look offended.

"Go back to New Orleans if you want hospitality, Marshall. I'm sure mom would welcome you. I won't." Elijah growled.

"Oh, mom wants you back too. Actually, she wants to be with Elijah, but her heart is telling her Klaus. Heart standing for a very annoying Hope in this situation, of course… It's very dramatic back home." Marshall said.

"I'm sure you can add to that happily." Elijah snapped.

"I could. I choose not to."

"Marshall?"

"Yes?"

"Leave. Before I make you. I don't want you to cause trouble here." Elijah stomped up to his bedroom. Marshall rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Have a temper tantrum." He called up.

"I'll just make my own fun." He whispered to himself. He smirked.

* * *

Rose and Grayson walked into the clearing where the bonfire party was being held. She grabbed Grayson's shirt collar to stop him from walking away.

"Do not make me regret bringing you here!" She warned. Grayson looked over at her with a mock sweet expression.

"Would I do that?"

"Yes. Don't." She let him go. He hurried over to join Abby, Liv and Matt again. Rose looked around, spotted Elijah and hurried over.

"Hey, you came." She greeted him. He nodded to her.

"I came." She frowned; he didn't seem overly happy about coming.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing… Sibling trouble."

"Didn't know you had siblings."

"Brother and a sister. My sister is in New Orleans but my brother just had to come here with me…" Elijah muttered.

"Oh, okay… I only have my brother, really. I was adopted at birth, so was he, but he's my biological brother too." Rose explained.

"Adopted?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah." She said, nodding fast. This was a tender subject for her. Elijah saw that and quickly changed the subject.

"You look nice, by the way." Rose had to look down to remind herself what she was wearing. A black tank top, black pants, black leather ankle boots and a grey leather jacket.

"Oh, thanks. You too." She said, eying his black t-shirt and ripped jeans.

"Why don't I get you a drink?" He offered.

"Oh, thanks." He walked off to get Rose a drink as Lexi and Victoria hurried over to Rose.

"You guys are so getting together!" Victoria said excitedly.

"Married…." Lexi said thoughtfully.

"Kids…." Victoria added.

"Shut up." Rose told them, only half kidding. Elijah came back, awkwardly carrying four red cups.

"I thought I'd get you girls a drink too." He told Lexi and Victoria. They both a 'you are my hero' awed look on their faces as they took their cups. Before they could thank him, Jamie and Luke ran up.

"Tell me you know where our sister is!" Jamie hissed at Victoria. It must've looked odd to Elijah; no one would ever guess that Victoria and Jamie were siblings by looking at them. Victoria shook her head.

"I left her with Grayson, Matt and Liv!" Victoria said, looking around.

"Can't find Grayson, Matt or Liv either!" Luke told her.

"Let's go find them." Rose said, putting her cup down. Luke, Victoria, Jamie, Lexi, Rose and Elijah headed into the trees in search of the younger teens.

"Maybe they went home. Parties aren't their thing, ya know." Lexi suggested, though she looked worried as well. Suddenly there was a scream that was undoubtedly Abby. They ran towards the sound. Elijah got there first with Jamie and Luke right behind him.

"What happened?!" Jamie demanded, rushing over to Abby. She was lying on the ground, blood pouring out from a wound on her neck.

"We got attacked by something!" Matt sputtered, kneeling down on the other side of her.

"ABBY!" Victoria screamed as she caught up to them. She ran over and threw herself down on the ground next to her sister.

"She's bleeding badly. We have to get her back to the bonfire and call 911!" Rose said as she and Lexi stopped, pausing in shock next to Elijah.

"Already on it!" Grayson was already dialing. Jamie swung her up in his arms and carried her back towards the clearing with Victoria right next to him, trying to apply pressure to Abby's neck wound. Liv was sobbing, looking around wildly. Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her along after them. Lexi took Matt's arm, pulling him along with her. Rose and Grayson brought up the rear, Elijah staying behind. With Abby hurt, no one noticed him not following. He growled and ran towards the Mikaelson Mansion.

* * *

Elijah darted inside the mansion. Marshall was by the fireplace, drinking a scotch and looking oddly proud of himself.

"What did you do?!" Elijah demanded.

"If you found the girl, I would think it's pretty obvious what I did." Marshall told him with a smirk. Elijah decked him, sending him to the floor.

"I moved away from New Orleans to get away from people getting hurt! You can't do this!" Elijah yelled.

"You're a vampire-werewolf hybrid, the son of Niklaus Mikaelson and you just moved to Mystic freaking Falls! What did you think was going to happen? You were going to ride off happily into the sunset with that little Salvatore girl?!" Marshall yelled back.

"JUST GO BACK TO NEW ORLEANS!"

"NO!" They glared at each other for a while.

"Have a good night, brother." With that said, Marshall darted out of the mansion.

* * *

**A/N So obviously this is set after Hope Mikaelson is born but I don't know exactly where on the Vampire Diaries it starts out as. As I said above, I love getting reviews so please tell me what you think! **


	2. Like Mother Like Daughter

**A/N Dear Klarolineshipper, I'm sorry you don't the couples, but that's just how I think the story should be. Matt and Bonnie weren't my first choice either, I just didn't like Jeremy and Bonnie and Matt was there all single-like. And Hayley and Klaus, for the record, is my favorite couple. If they had one kid together, I'm thinking they'll have more. And Caroline and Stefan are becoming more than friends, if you watched Season Five at all. Also, the couples listed there won't have a whole lot to do with this story, at least not for a long while, it was just so that you would know who the kids' parents were. **

**To my other readers: I'll try to do like my other Vampire Diaries fanfiction and update either everyday or every other day. Please review and tell me what you think! **

* * *

Rose was out of bed the next morning by four, despite how late she'd gotten home last night. The sun wasn't even up yet. She hurried dressed in a white t-shirt, red plaid shirt, faded jeans and brown leather boots. She picked up her phone and quickly texted Victoria.

**_How is A?_**

She hurried downstairs and grabbed a can of coke from the fridge as she waited for the answer.

**_OK. Had blood transfusion last night._**

Rose headed out the door and towards her ancient Volvo as she texted Victoria back.

**_Where R U?_**

She started trying to coax some life into her car. After two tries, it started.

**_Still at hospital. J is here too. How long until u get here?_**

Grayson climbed onto the Volvo before Rose could drive away. She looked over at him.

"I'm going to the hospital to see Abby too!" He told her. She just nodded; she expected nothing else from her brother. Victoria had texted her back.

**_Few minutes. Bringing Grayson. _**

Rose drove to the hospital, found a parking space and then she and Grayson hurried inside. They found out from a nurse where Abby's room was and went there. Jamie and Victoria were there, curled up in chairs on either side of Abby's bed. Abby was still asleep, looking pale and sickly looking with a huge bandage on her neck. Jamie and Victoria looked tired and they were still in the clothes they'd worn to the party last night.

"Hey." Victoria mumbled. She got up, motioning for Grayson to sit down in her chair and then pulled Rose into the hallway so that they could talk.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Rose asked. Victoria rubbed at her eyes.

"Not good. The doctors are sure that she'll wake up and she'll be okay, but…" Victoria started crying. Rose quickly hugged her.

"I'm so sorry! I can't imagine going through this with Grayson. Where are your parents?" Victoria shrugged without moving away from Rose.

"Work. They have to pay the hospital bills somehow, right?" Victoria tried to laugh but failed miserably. Lexi ran over to them. She was dressed in a plain blue t-shirt, ripped jeans and battered tennis shoes. Her lack of make-up was surprising. Obviously she'd jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes and ran here. Lexi and Victoria hugged.

"I'm sorry, Vicki!" Lexi whispered, using Victoria's childhood nickname for the first time in several years. Victoria nodded, pulled away and wiped at her eyes again.

"You should stay here, ditch school." Lexi added. Normally both Rose and Victoria would disagree, but this time Lexi was right; this was more important than school.

"My parents already called the school, told 'em what happened and excused me from going for at least today. Jamie too." Victoria explained. She paused, thinking.

"Hey, uh, can you guys grab some things for me? I have some school work in my locker from yesterday I need to get done." Both Lexi and Rose nodded.

"Here's my locker combination." She texted it to Rose's phone.

"And I will swing by your house and pick up some clothes for you." Lexi offered. Victoria gave her a grateful smile.

"Thanks, guys." They did a group hug before Rose pulled away first.

"I need to call someone. I'll be right back." She headed off down the hallway, intending to go out to her car. Lexi looked over at Victoria.

"Yep… She's calling her new boyfriend."

"Lexi, she's not dating Elijah!"

"Yet!" Lexi insisted. Victoria rolled her eyes and leaned against her friend's shoulder as they talked.

* * *

Rose got to her car, climbed into the front seat and dialed Elijah's number. It rang twice before he answered.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey, it's me. Rose."

"_Oh, hey_."

"I was just wondering if you were okay. Last night was… intense. And I didn't see you, so I just thought I'd check up on you."

"_I'm fine. Just don't handle blood well._"

"Totally get it. I don't either." Rose assured him.

"_So any news on Abby?_"

"She got a blood transfusion. Apparently she lost more blood than we thought. She's still out cold, but the doctor's say she'll be awake soon."

"_That's good._"

"Yeah. Victoria's really upset, but once Abby's awake, she'll calm down. She's just like a mother hen. She feels responsible for her baby sister."

"_Yeah, I got a sister like that too. Are you going to be at school today or are you staying at the hospital?_"

"School."

"_Then I'll see you there._"

"See you there. Bye."

"_Bye_." Rose left her car and went back into the hospital. She needed to bring Grayson back home so that they could get breakfast and get ready for school. She was completely unaware of the person watching her from the shadows…

* * *

School went by slowly. Rose felt it was different without Victoria, Jamie or Abby there. Finally, the last bell rang and the students rushed out of the school. Rose hung behind, digging through her text messages until she found the one with Victoria's locker combination. She turned to head towards Victoria's locker and ran into Elijah. They both stumbled back.

"Oh, sorry!" She said, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"It's my fault. Uh, where you going?" He asked, eying the exit and then the direction she was going.

"I have to get something for Victoria from her locker. I will see you later." She told him, heading off. He nodded and walked out of the exit. A hand to the chest stopped him. He glared over at Marshall.

"What?" He growled.

"I'd keep that girlfriend of yours in sight if I were you, baby brother." Marshall warned. Elijah growled, letting his eyes turn yellow and veins appear. _Two hybrids battle each other, this should be fun, _he thought bitterly. Marshall held up his hands in hands in surrender.

"Not to protect her from _me_. I did a little research on her."

"On her?" Elijah echoed.

"Yes. I was interested. She's a doppelganger, just like her mother, Elena."

"You mean-."

"Yep. That girl is the only human Petrova doppelganger left. You realize that vampires will be coming after her for her magical properties, right?" Marshall asked. Suddenly there was a scream from inside the school.

* * *

Rose headed towards Victoria's locker. She used the combination to open and was just rooting through the messy locker to find the school work when she heard someone around the corner. She frowned. Maybe Elijah had hung around? She ventured slowly around the corner. Suddenly someone grabbed her by the throat, cutting off her airway. The man in front of her let his fangs extend. Her eyes grew wide and terrified.

"You don't know how long I have searched for you, Elena Gilbert!" He growled. Rose was even more confused and terrified now. She kicked him in the knee. He dropped her, cussing. She fell to the floor and let out a scream she hoped someone could hear. She scrambled away from the man, running through the halls. Behind her, the vampire hurried after her. She skidded into the lunch room, tripping over a chair and falling to the floor. She looked towards the door fearfully, waiting for the man to come after her.

Elijah ran into the school and grabbed the vampire by the neck. He could hear Rose running away. He slammed the vampire to the ground.

"What do you want with her?" He growled. Marshall very calmly walked up behind them.

"I think it's obvious. Thought she was Elena, huh?" Marshal asked. The vampire growled and struggled against Elijah. Marshall walked over and hauled the vampire to his feet.

"I got this; go compel your girlfriend to forget this little accident, alright?" Marshall asked. Elijah hesitated, but then hurried off after Rose. Marshall turned to the vampire.

"Sorry to do this… No, wait, I'm really not." He ripped the vampire's heart out and let the body fall to the floor.

* * *

Rose scrambled to her feet, about to keep running, when someone grabbed her arms. She screamed and spun around. Elijah already had his hands off her.

"What… There… There was…. Elijah! What was that thing!?" She sputtered, motioning wildly towards the hallway.

"Hey, hey, its okay, you're safe." He told her. She was sobbing now, still pointing where she'd last seen the vampire. He grabbed her face and looked her straight in the eye.

"You are not going to remember anything about what happened, alright? You are going to go home. You are going to go about your life. Nothing happened." He compelled her. Suddenly her hand shot up and she smacked him across the face. He looked at her shocked.

"FORGET?!" She screamed, glaring at him. He looked at her for a minute.

"You can't be compelled…" He murmured in shock. She was already backing away from him.

"I don't know what the heck just happened, but I am leaving. You can stay away from me!" She turned and sprinted away from him. She was almost out the door when Marshall arrived to block her path. He grabbed her by the throat. She clawed at his hands desperately.

"MARSHALL!" Elijah yelled a warning. Marshall looked over at him, not releasing his grip on Rose.

"She can't be compelled. She's a Petrova doppelganger, and those, in case you don't remember, tend to cause problems in the supernatural world!" Marshall reminded Elijah. Elijah darted forward, knocking Marshall away. Rose fell to the floor and her head hit it hard, knocking her out.

"What is wrong with you?!" Elijah demanded, shoving Marshal back.

"I think we can agree the whole family is screwed up, Elijah! The last time someone got a hold of doppelganger blood, they destroyed the Other Side!"

"Then no one gets to her." Elijah said simply, hurrying over to Rose.

"Great idea. What about the part where she knows she was just attacked by a vampire and her knight in shining armor just tried to mind control her, huh?" Marshall asked. Elijah scooped Rose's unconscious body into his arms.

"I'll deal with that." He snapped.

"Fine. Then go on and fix it, hero!" Marshall said sarcastically. Elijah walked past him, carrying Rose back towards the Mikaelson Mansion. Marshall rolled his eyes and then he went to dispose of the vampire body before people saw it and started asking really bad questions.

* * *

Rose was still unconscious, lying on the couch in the living room. Elijah sat on the coffee table, waiting for her to wake up. Marshall came into the room.

"Still out like a light?" He asked.

"Unless lying there not moving is a habit of hers, yeah." Elijah shot back.

"How did you know that she was in danger?" Elijah asked after a short pause, turning towards his brother. Marshall leaned against the doorframe.

"I have friends in high places." He turned to leave.

"Dad sent you here, didn't he?" Marshall froze and looked back at Elijah.

"What?"

"Dad. He sent you here. He knew about Rose, didn't he?" Elijah asked. Marshall sighed.

"Yes. He kept an eye on the Doppelganger situation. That's why I didn't leave; I was sent here to protect her until he needs more hybrids."

"He could use Hope; she can make hybrids."

"Yeah, one's that are sired to _her_. He's not fond of the idea of having an army running around at the little Mikaelson princess' command." Marshall scoffed.

"So that's your big mission? Be dad's lapdog?" Elijah asked. Marshall spun around to look at his younger brother.

"Shut up."

"Make me." Marshall challenged. Elijah growled at him.

"Oooh! Scary hybrid! Yeah, have fun convincing Rosie that you're harmless and nothing to be scared of. She'll believe that!" Marshall walked out of the room.

"Stay out of it! And don't call her 'Rosie'." Elijah yelled over his shoulder. He sat back down and waited for Rose to wake up.

* * *

**A/N So I will go deeper into the whole 'Rose is a Petrova doppelganger too' thing later on in the 'season'. So far what do you think of the storyline? It's similar to The Vampire Diaries, but trust me, I will make it different. Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	3. The Girl in Question

**A/N Dear Ddluzelle, the 'scooby gang' will make an appearance this 'season', just not for a while yet. I want to kind of explore the kids and have them toughen-up before their parents come back and get involved. Also, yes, you did sense a love triangle there! It wouldn't be a vampire diaries fanfiction without a love triangle, would it? **

**Also, I meant to do this at the end of the first chapter, but it totally slipped my mind. Here's the actors I picture for the characters: **

**Nina Dobrev as Rose Salvatore (given that she's a Petrova doppelganger. I picture her like Elena was in season one) **

**Matt Lanter as Elijah Mikaelson **

**Kevin Zegers as Marshall Mikaelson **

**Ashley Benson as Lexi Salvatore (if any of you have ever seen her, I think you'll agree she looks a little like Caroline) **

**Vanessa Morgan as Victoria Donovan (looks like Bonnie, I think) **

**Nicholas Hoult as Will Saltzman (little old for the character, but that's the only actor I can picture playing Will) **

**Jake Abel as Jamie Donovan (again, little too old. But then again, the actors for The Vampire Diaries are all in their twenties and thirties playing teenagers, so probably not that bad) **

**Andrew Garfield as Alaric Gilbert**

**Logan Lerman as Grayson Salvatore (I think he looks just like a younger Damon with a bit of Elena mixed in!) **

**Leo Howard as Matt Gilbert (looks like Jeremy, I think) **

**Sasha Pieterse as Liv Lockwood **

**Hailee Steinfeld as Abby Donovan**

**A lot of characters, I know. But each one has their little group of friends and they rarely mingle all in one room, so it won't be _too_ hard to keep straight. **

**Wow! Long Authors Note, I apologize. On with the 'episode'! **

* * *

Rose gasped as she woke up on the couch. She looked around the room. She was alone. She silently walked out into the dinning room that was connected to the living room. She walked past the grand staircase in the front room and towards the front door. She was just reaching for the handle when it opened. She jumped back as Marshall entered. She glared at him.

"You're the one that-." She started, pointing an accusing finger at his chest.

"Tried to choke you to death? Yep. That's me." He said with a smirk. She was turning to run when she saw Elijah right behind her.

"Stay away from me!" She warned, backing away from both brothers.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you." Elijah assured her.

"You tried to tell me to forget that….that something attacked me… What is wrong with you?! What is wrong with everything here?!" She yelled.

"Oh for the love of-." Marshall darted forward and sank his teeth into her neck. She screamed right as Elijah darted forward and slammed Marshall to the floor. Marshall easily shoved Elijah off him and stood up again. Rose was holding her neck, blood running through her fingers as she stared at them, silent tears running down her face. Elijah stood up, growling at Marshall.

"She has Vervain in her system. That's why she can't be compelled. Doesn't seem that high concentrated; it'll pass out of her system by the end of the day." Marshall explained, wiping the blood off his lips.

"Vervain?!" Rose echoed. She'd moved over to sit down weakly on the bottom stair. Elijah went over to her.

"Come here." He pulled her to her feet and led her upstairs into his bedroom. He sat her down on the bed and pulled her hand away from her neck to examine the wound.

"What's going on?" Rose asked through her tears.

"That man that attacked you yesterday, that was a vampire. He thought you… you were someone else."

"Vampire?"

"Yes."

"And you and your brother… You're vampires…?"

"Hybrids. Half vampire, half werewolf. Got a bit of witch mixed in there too, but our sister is the only one that can really do magic." He saw from the look on her face that he was confusing her too much.

"Sorry. Look, once the Vervain leaves your system, I can compel you to forget all of this. It'll be like nothing ever happened." Elijah explained.

"What's Vervain? I don't know how it's in my system." She sobbed.

"First, here, let me heal that for you." He bit into his wrist, drawing blood. She looked horrified.

"My blood will heal you if you drink it. Just trust me." Elijah told her. She shook her head.

"I do trust you. But I'm not drinking blood." She told him. He sighed, lowering his arm; it was healed and not bleeding anymore anyway.

"Fine." He went into the bathroom and came back with a large bandage and a wet washcloth.

"Vervain is a type of plant. Burns vampires like fire, incapacitates them for a while. If it's in someone or on someone, they can't be compelled." He explained, washing away from the blood from her neck and shoulder.

"And compelled is…"

"Like mind control."

"Oh… Nice..."

"Yeah… Someone must be slipping it to you in food or a drink." He told her.

"Who?"

"No idea." He put the bandage over her neck wound. She flinched a little at the pressure.

"Will this turn me into a vampire?"

"No. You have to have vampire blood in your system, die and then drink human blood." Elijah explained.

"So Abby will stay human too?"

"Yes."

"Was she attacked by that same vampire that attacked me?"

"Um…. No… That was Marshall."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah."

"I hate him." She said it simply, very acceptingly.

"A lot of people do."

"That vampire called me 'Elena Gilbert'. Why did he think I was Elena? I don't even know an 'Elena Gilbert'." Rose mumbled.

"How much do you know about your parents?" He asked. She shot him a look.

"I don't want to talk about them. I draw the line at talking about my parents and vampires at the same time." She snapped. He sighed.

"Well, you're going to have to talk about both. Your mother is Elena Gilbert." He explained. She let that sink in for a minute before looking back at him.

"How do you know?"

"My family and your family were… frenemies, I guess you could say. I've never met the Salvatore's, but I've heard a lot about them. Elena was a Petrova Doppelganger, like you."

"Doppelganger? Petrova?" She asked.

"You look exactly like your mother and your ancestors, Katerina Petrova, Tatia Petrova and Amara Petrova, the original doppelganger."

"What does that mean?"

"Doppelgangers are supernatural occurrences. Their blood has been used as binding agents for spells."

"Okay, wait, wait, wait… This is all way to much for me right now."

"I know it is a lot to take in, but it's all true." Elijah told her. She stared at him blankly, thinking through all of this new information.

"And you're just going to compel me to forget all of this once the Vervain is out of my system." She said finally. Elijah closed his eyes with a sigh, thinking for a minute.

"I don't want to, but you don't know how much danger knowing all of this puts you in!" Elijah told her.

"If I take the vampire attacking me thinking that I was my mother because we're both a supernatural occurrence so we look exactly alike as my first hint, I'm already in danger." Rose told him. He couldn't ignore the truth in that statement.

"Please, just don't mess with my mind, Elijah, please!" Rose pleaded after a minute of silence. He looked up to meet her eyes again.

"If you know this, you can't tell anyone." He told her. She nodded vigorously, eager to do anything to avoid having her mind messed with.

"Okay. I won't compel you." He told her. She smiled weakly. He motioned towards his bathroom.

"You can take a shower if you want. You don't want to go home with blood on you." He reminded her. She nodded again and went into the bathroom. While she took her shower, Elijah went downstairs. Marshall was waiting for him.

"You were supposed to compel her, not give into her wishes because she gave you puppy dog eyes!" Marshall told him. Elijah shook his head.

"I don't like compelling people. Besides, we have more problems than just her knowing about vampires and werewolves and doppelgangers." Elijah told him.

"Oh my." Marshall added. Elijah shot him a 'be serious' look. Marshall rolled his eyes.

"And what problems are you referring to?" Marshall asked.

"A vampire was trying to kill her because she looked like Elena."

"Taken care of. He can't kill her if he doesn't have a heart and is buried in the woods." Marshall reminded Elijah.

"Fair enough. What did Elena do that vampires want to kill her?"

"Oh, yeah, I asked dad about that. Apparently she's been on and off the humanity wagon for a while now. Made a lot of enemies that way."

"Lovely." Elijah said sarcastically.

"I thought so. Any other problems?"

"If one vampire wants to kill Rose, more might come after her."

"Right… We'll need a protection detail. If I ask, dad can send over some vampires from New Or-." Marshall started.

"No. No more vampires than we already have." Elijah protested.

"Fine." Marshall agreed reluctantly.

"Also, someone was keeping Rose on Vervain. We need to figure out who the heck knows about vampires in this town." Elijah finished.

"And kill them!" Marshall said.

"Um, guys?" They turned towards Rose as she came downstairs. Her hair was wet and her bloodstains from her neck and hands were gone. She was still dressed in her outfit from yesterday, since those were the only clothes she had.

"Can I go home now or are you going to keep me prisoner here?" She asked.

"Actually, we have some chains in the basement that would look lovely on you, so-." Marshall started.

"You can go home." Elijah interrupted. Marshall shot him an irritated look.

"We can't protect her if she's not here!" Marshall hissed.

"No vampire can get in if they're not invited inside by the owner of the house. It would take her foster mother, her brother or her to allow them in. As long as she's careful, she's fine. Besides, we can't keep her here for the rest of her life!" Elijah reminded him. Rose walked past them, watching Marshall wearily. She hurried out the front door and Elijah followed her out onto the porch.

"I'll give you a ride home." He offered. She looked like she was about to protest but though better of it and nodded.

* * *

Elijah and Rose were silent as he drove her home. He walked her up to her porch and they stood there in another minute of silence before Rose finally spoke.

"Do you think that Grayson will be in danger? I mean, he's my biologically brother, so he must be Elena's son to, so-." Rose started.

"I doubt anyone would know right off the bat who his parents were. I'll keep an eye out for him anyway." Elijah assured her. She nodded quickly.

"Thanks." She turned towards her front door but then stopped and looked back at him.

"Elijah?"

"Hmm?"

"Who was my dad? I mean, he must be a Salvatore, because of my last name, right?"

"Yeah… His name is Damon Salvatore."

"Good guy, bad guy, crazy guy?" She asked, digging for more information.

"Tried to convince people he was bad. Good guy at heart. Crazy only if you provoked him." Elijah explained. She nodded once. He started to walk off the porch.

"Elijah?" He turned back to Rose.

"You said that a vampire had to be invited into the house, right?"

"Well, do hybrids have to be invited in?"

"Yeah, we've got enough vampire in us for that weakness." He told her.

"Well, you can come in. Not now, since I have to deal with my foster mom right now, but whenever you need to." She told him. He smiled and nodded. He walked off as she went into her house. As Rose shut the door, Anne ran over to her.

"Where. Have. You. Been?!" She put an emphasis on each word.

"I'm sorry. I went to study at a friend's house after school and then I fell asleep there and then I just wanted to get to school." Rose lied. Anne's expression softened just a little bit.

"Okay… Well, don't do it again! Call me if you're going to spend the night someplace." Anne told her. Rose nodded in agreement. Anne took her arm and led her into the kitchen.

"Want some coffee?"

"Uh… Sure, why not?"

* * *

**A/N Out of curiosity, can anyone guess who is slipping Rose vervain? I'm wondering how obvious I made it because in my mind I know _exactly_ who, but I want to know if you guys do. It will be revealed very soon though.**


	4. Story Time

**A/N D****ear ScarlettRose, I don't like changing names after I post the fanfiction. Sorry. And it wasn't meant to honor her foster parents, but to honor her as her legal last name is 'Marshall'. Also, I'll think about Elijah and Katherine. **

**And here's a list of who's kid is who's for Nicoleleecarter (the kids are also in the correct age order): **

**Damon and Elena kids are ****Rose Salvatore and ****Grayson Salvatore **

**Stefan and Caroline's only child is Lexi Salvatore **

**Matt and Bonnie's three kids are Jamie, Victoria and Abby Donovan**

**Jeremy and April's two sons are Alaric Gilbert and Matt Gilbert **

**Tyler and Liv's kids are Luke Lockwood and Liv Lockwood (the second) **

**Alaric and Meredith's son is Will Saltzman **

**Klaus and Hayley's kids are Hope Mikaelson (not seen yet, might appear later in the fanfiction), Marshall Mikaelson and Elijah Mikaelson (the second) **

* * *

Rose rushed downstairs. If she didn't hurry, she was going to be late for school. Grayson had already left, hitching a ride with Luke and Liv Lockwood. Rose was just about to go out the door when her mom's voice called out to her from the kitchen.

"Hey, come in here for a minute!" Rose turned and walked into the kitchen.

"I would love to stay and chat, but I'm going to be late-." She started, edging out of the kitchen again.

"No, you won't, you still have a couple minutes. Here, you'll be brain dead without your coffee." Anne offered Rose a steaming cup.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Seriously, I have to go." Rose told her. Anne held it out to her again.

"Just a couple drinks." Rose sighed, took the cup and took a couple of drinks. It was so hot that it burned her throat going down.

"Thank you. Now, you'd better hurry." Rose gave her a suspicious look. Anne smiled sweetly at her. Rose turned and left, pulling out her phone as she hurried off the porch. She saw Lexi and Victoria impatiently waiting for her on the sidewalk. She quickly texted Elijah as she walked over to them.

**_Think I know who is sneaking me Vervain. Meet me at school. _**

She tucked her phone back into her pocket as she reached Lexi and Victoria. They started for school.

"How's Abby doing?" Rose asked, knowing that Victoria wouldn't leave her bedside unless Abby was doing much better.

"Better. Mom and dad are signing her discharge papers as we speak. She'll be in school tomorrow, hopefully. Although, it would have been nice if I could work on my schoolwork while I was there." Victoria said, shooting Rose a meaningful look. Rose gave her a confused look right back.

"Why couldn't you…. Oh! OH! I'm so sorry, I'm a bad friend! I was going to get it and bring it to you after school but..." Rose couldn't think up an excuse. Somehow she thought saying 'I was attacked by a vampire because I looked like my doppelganger, vampire mom and two vampire-werewolf hybrid brothers kept me in their house for a day because they wanted to mind control me to forget all of it and I shouldn't even have told you all of this so please don't tell anyone else' was going to work right now.

"You know what? Forget it." Victoria told her.

"With a silent 'bite me' included…" Lexi said, though it was already obvious by Victoria's tone.

"I'm sorry, Victoria!" Rose said again. Victoria just shook her head.

"Forget it." She repeated. They'd made it to the school parking lot. Rose saw Elijah waiting for her by a tree. She looked at Victoria.

"I'm sorry." She walked over to Elijah, leaving Victoria and Lexi. Rose jogged over to Elijah.

"My foster mom. I think she's slipping me Vervain through coffee." She told Elijah. He frowned.

"It would make sense. I mean, it's possible that your biological parents would tell your foster mom about vampires in case you showed any vampiric traits." Elijah mused.

"So she knows about vampires?"

"Possibly…. The bell just rang inside. Come on." They hurried into the school.

* * *

After school, Victoria headed home. She couldn't believe Rose. Best friends since they were babies and still she wouldn't do Victoria one favor and then after a quick apology, she ran off to talk to the new boy. Victoria went up to her room and shut the door behind her. Everything that had happened lately came back into her mind to piss her off. Suddenly one of her framed pictures fell of the wall and the glass shattered on the floor. She jumped away with a gasp. How did that just happen? She was aware of the things on her desk shaking. She backed away. It stopped. She looked at her foster mom, Lydia, who had come to stand in the doorway.

"Victoria… We need to talk."

* * *

Rose got home after school with a plan in mind. Grayson was going over to the Lockwood's place to hang out with Liv and Matt. They were all bummed about not being able to have Abby there too, but Lydia and Max (Abby's foster parents) had made it clear that she needed rest now. Rose and Anne were the only people in the house. Rose walked upstairs into Anne's bedroom, where she was at her desk, writing up the bills.

"Hey, mom?" Rose asked, pausing in the doorway. Anne looked over at Rose and smiled at her.

"Hey, honey. Come on in." She returned. Rose walked over to the desk and stood beside it.

"I wanted to ask you something." Rose started slowly. Her 'plan' hadn't really been a plan. More like a set of steps she wanted to take. Step one: find Anne. Check. Step two: get all the information on her biological parents and the supernatural world as she could from Anne. She was sure there was supposed to be a step in between explaining how to get there, but she'd never actually thought it up.

"Grayson's at the Lockwood's place. Pizza for dinner. I know about your report card. Yes, you can go over to Victoria's and or Lexi's." Anne answered the usual questions.

"Yeah, none of that was what I was going to ask." She told Anne. Anne looked mildly surprised at that.

"Oh. Okay. Shoot." She told her, pushing the chair away from the desk and looking at her.

"My real parents were vampires and you've been slipping me Vervain, right?" Rose blurted out the question. _Jeez, way to be subtle, _she thought after she'd said it. Anne looked completely and utterly shocked.

"What would make you think a thing like that?" Anne asked, trying to look like she didn't know what Rose was talking about. Rose sighed.

"Don't play dumb, please! I know about vampires and werewolves and doppelgangers and witches and Vervain and everything!" Rose told her.

"Who told you all of this?" Anne demanded, dropping the act like it was hot.

"Elijah Mikaelson. Well, Elijah Mikaelson the second, not to be confused with the Original vampire Elijah Mikaelson." Rose explained, feeling stupid after she'd said all that.

"Well, I don't know what that Mikaelson boys knows-." Anne started, looking flustered and irritated.

"Quite a lot, given that he's a werewolf-vampire hybrid who's father, uncles and aunt are Original vampires that the vampire race was created from." Rose interrupted, jumping to Elijah's defense. Anne sighed.

"I never wanted you to know any of it. Your biological mother and father even made me promise never to tell you anything unless you showed supernatural traits."

"Well, I am supernatural. No doubt you realized my similarities to my mother, Elena?" Rose asked her. Anne nodded, looking slightly intrigued.

"I'm a Petrova Doppelganger, just like her. Doppelgangers are supernatural occurrences. Doppelganger blood is commonly used as a binding agent in spells. A vampire tried to kill me the other day because I was mistaken for Elena." Rose told her. Anne gasped.

"I never meant for you to get hurt-." She started to explain. Rose held up her hand to stop her.

"Yeah, I know. But telling me about the supernatural world would've been nice!" Rose told her.

"I didn't want to put you in danger." Anne told her, standing up to look Rose in the eyes.

"Well, I'm in danger now. Does Grayson know any of this?" Rose asked. Anne shook her head, looking down.

"No. And I don't want him to…." Anne said. Rose scoffed. Anne looked up at her again to see what she meant by that scoff.

"You act like he's your son and I'm your daughter, but we're not. I don't know if Grayson is in danger or not, but I'm not going to keep it a secret and wait until he is to tell him any of this!" Rose was almost yelling now. She spun around and headed for the bedroom door.

"Don't you dare tell him! He's just a kid! He can't know any of this!" Anne yelled. Rose paused in the doorway and looked back at her.

"Until a few days ago, I was just a kid too. I won't tell Grayson yet. But the second I think he needs to know, I'm going to tell him anything. I'm tired of secrets." With that said, she left the room, leaving Anne to think about that.

* * *

Victoria and Lydia sat on Victoria's bed. Victoria was crying. Lydia was trying to comfort her as best she could.

"I'm… I'm a witch?" Victoria asked, finally looking up at her foster mother in shock. Lydia nodded slowly.

"I didn't want to tell you until I was sure you would even get magical powers." Lydia explained. Victoria started crying harder.

"Does… Does that… mean… Abby's a… a…" Victoria tried to choke out the words.

"Abby hasn't shown any signs of being a witch, but she's still young." Lydia answered, understanding Victoria's question. Victoria nodded once.

"And… Jamie?"

"If he was a warlock, he'd have shown his powers before now. He's human…" Lydia assured Victoria.

"My mom was a witch?"

"Yes. Bonnie Bennett-Donovan was… is a very powerful witch. One second." Lydia left the room and returned with a very thick, leather bound book. She handed it to Victoria, who took it in confusion.

"That's Bonnie's grimoire. It has all her spells in it. You can learn to control your magic by using it." Lydia explained. Victoria gingerly opened it to see the first page.

"Just… Don't burn the house down or anything." Lydia told her. Then she left Victoria in her room with the grimoire.

* * *

Lexi sat in the Grill, watching as Jamie picked up some food for a family dinner. She watched as he walked out the door. She sighed.

"Just ask him out, Lexi…" She whispered to herself. Someone slid into the seat across from her. She looked at the man in his early twenties.

"Uh… Hi?" She said slowly. He smiled at her and leaned forward.

"Do you know anyone by the name of Rose Salvatore?"

"Yeah… She's my cousin… Why?" She asked.

"Because I need her and I think you'll do just fine as bait." Suddenly he leapt across the table and shoved a rag into her face. The second she breathed in, she passed out. He dragged her out of the restaurant through the back door, no one the wiser of what had just happened.

* * *

**A/N Please review and tell me what you think. Also, a character from the Vampire Diaries series will appear in the next couple episodes, so don't worry about not having any of the original characters in this fanfiction. **


	5. Make It or Break It

**A/N I hope you guys like this chapter/episode. Please review! **

* * *

"What do you mean Lexi's 'missing'?" Rose asked Anne in shock as she relayed Lexi's foster parents' words.

"She was last seen at the Grill, but she hasn't come home." Anne told her.

"What do the police have?"

"Nothing." Anne admitted. Rose turned and ran out of the house. She climbed into her car, coaxed some life into it and then drove to the MikaelsonMansion. Marshall answered the door when she impatiently knocked. She shot him a look and walked past him.

"Good morning to you too!" He said sarcastically. Rose ignored him. Elijah met her at the foot of the stairs.

"What's the problem?" He asked worriedly.

"It's Lexi. Someone… or something… took her! She's missing!" Rose told him. Marshall made an annoyed sound.

"Human problems!" He said.

"Yeah, well, you tried to choke me to death, so you owe me!" Rose snapped at him. She had really only come here for Elijah's help, but she could use Marshall as well. He rolled his eyes.

"After saving your life from a vampire. I owe you _nothing_!" He went to walk upstairs, but Elijah caught his arm.

"Maybe we should check this out." Elijah suggested. Marshall looked at him, thought about it and then made another annoyed sound.

"Fine. But she probably got drunk and passed out somewhere!" Marshall said, directing it at Rose.

"You don't know Lexi, but I do and she wouldn't do that!" Rose told him.

"We'll get on it. See if we can track her down." Elijah told her. Rose nodded and then went to leave. She paused at the door and looked back at Marshall.

"And you're a jerk, by the way." She left the house.

"Been called worse!" Marshall called after her.

* * *

Rose climbed the stairs into her bedroom tiredly. Something crunched under her foot. She looked down. The floor was covered in shattered glass. A rock with a note taped to it lied in the middle of the room. She ran over to it and snatched the note. She unfolded it with shaking hands and read it to herself.

_Rose, _

_I suppose you know by now about your missing cousin? I have her at the old Salvatore Boarding House. It's just out of town; you can't miss it. Come there and she's all yours. Bring any vampire with you, she's dead. _

_With the kindest regards, _

_One of the Five _

Rose dropped the note, letting it flutter to the floor. She grabbed her phone and dialed Elijah's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"_Is something wrong_?"

"What does 'the five' mean to you?"

"'_The Five'? Where did you hear that?_!"

"Dangerous?" She asked.

"_Extremely. Where did you hear that?_"

"Nowhere. Gotta go." She hung up before he could protest. She turned towards the door and let out a small scream. Anne rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic. No vampire could have gotten in here; this is the one place you don't have to worry about vampires in. I heard you talking to Elijah. The Five is a group of vampire hunters. Immune to compulsion, faster, stronger, all around made to kill vampires. Elena Gilbert's cousin, Jeremy, is one of The Five." Anne explained.

"Alaric and Matt's dad is one of The Five?" Rose asked, dumbfounded. Alaric and Matt were athletic, sure, but in no way a vampire hunter. Was it genetic? Given that was there only five, probably not.

"Yes. Your parents warned me about all kinds of supernatural creatures, but they were least worried about The Five. Three of them were already dead, Jeremy was the fourth and he would never kill any of you kids and no one put much thought into the fifth." She explained.

"Well, the fifth has Lexi!" Rose kneeled down and grabbed the note from the floor. She thrust it into Anne's hand. Anne read it to herself.

"No vampires…" Anne murmured.

"I didn't tell Elijah anything, but-."

"No, that's good. You want to keep Lexi alive, they stay out of it. Come on." Anne led Rose from the room and into her own bedroom. She pulled a large suitcase out from under the bed.

"Just in case." She said. She opened it up. Inside were bottles of clear liquid, wooden stakes, knives and even a crossbow.

"Holy…" Rose trailed off.

"I was prepared to defend my kids against anything." Anne told her. She handed the crossbow over to Rose.

"Granted, I was expecting to go against vampires, not vampire hunters, but…" Anne grabbed a couple knives.

"Get in the car. Also, tell Grayson to stay at the Donovan's house for a while. I'm sure he won't mind spending time with Abby." Anne added. Rose texted Grayson as they walked downstairs. She climbed into the passenger seat of the car and rested the crossbow on her lap.

"Mom?" Anne looked over at Rose as she started the car.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For everything."

"No problem, kiddo." She ruffled Rose's hair and then drove towards the Salvatore Boarding House.

* * *

Elijah paced in his bedroom, repeatedly calling Rose back. She was ignoring his calls. Marshall walked into the room.

"Problems?" He asked.

"Shut up. Something's going on with Rose. She wanted to know about The Five." Marshall's smug expression faltered.

"The Five? Bad news. Don't wanna go near any of 'em!" Marshall said.

"Yeah, I know. She hung up and is not answering my calls."

"So let's go to her house." Elijah nodded in agreement. He and Marshall headed out of the Mikaelson Mansion.

* * *

Anne stopped the car in the driveway of the Salvatore Boarding house. She looked over at Rose.

"When we get in there, we try to talk our way out of it. If that doesn't work, I'll distract him while you grab Lexi and get the heck out of dodge, alright?" Anne asked. Rose hesitated, but then nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Stay behind me." Anne held the two knives raised up high as they got out of the car and went up to the porch. Anne went to the side of the door and looked at Rose. She held her crossbow at the ready and nodded. Anne swung open the door and they entered the boarding house.

* * *

Elijah and Marshall got onto the porch of Rose's house. Realizing no one was home, Elijah entered the house but Marshall couldn't.

"She invited you in?" Marshall asked.

"She likes me better." Elijah returned. He hurried up to her bedroom. He returned a second later, holding the note. He handed it to Marshall, who read it.

"Salvatore Boarding House. Let's go. Dad will kill me if I let the last human doppelganger die!" Marshall said. They hurried off.

* * *

Anne and Rose ventured slowly into the Boarding House, searching for both Lexi and the fifth hunter.

"Brought an old human as your bodyguard?" They spun around towards the voice. A man in his late twenties with black hair and green eyes stood behind them, arms folded across his chest.

"I'm only thirty-seven, for the record!" Anne shot back at him. Rose leveled her crossbow, aiming it at him. She wondered if she could actually shoot a man, whether he'd taken her cousin or not.

"Hmm… Well, no vampires. Good girl." He amended, looking at Rose. She glared at him.

"Why did you want her here?" Anne asked. He sighed dramatically and walked forward. Rose and Anne backed away to keep some distance between them.

"The children of vampires cannot be allowed to live. Think of it as a side-job to hunting vampires." He explained.

"But Lexi…" Rose trailed off, mentally kicking herself for saying that much already. He smiled at her.

"Oh, I know that Lexi is the daughter of a Salvatore vampire as well. I was never going to give her up. More like draw all the children of vampires here and killed them together. It will be very poetic! Granted, I wanted you the most. A doppelganger and a daughter of two vampires. Oh no. Big no no in the supernatural world."

"Not happening!" Anne told him.

"Not like you can stop me." Anne was about to say something when a scream echoed from the cellar.

"Jeez! That girl can not shut up!" The hunter complained.

"Go get Lexi!" Anne ordered. Rose moved towards the cellar, but the hunter blocked her path. In a blur of motion, Anne kicked him in the stomach and knocked him to the ground. Rose stared in shock.

"Go!" Anne ordered. Rose hurried down to the cellar, slinging the crossbow over her shoulder. She stumbled down the last few steps and into the dark basement. A locked door was right in front of her.

"Lexi?" Rose called.

"ROSE!" Lexi screamed back. Rose unlocked the door and hurried into the room. Lexi was tied to a chair, a gag around her neck from where she'd worked it off her mouth. Rose darted forward and began untying her.

"How did you get here? Where did you get a crossbow? What is that guy talking about? He talked about vampires! What is going on? Where is he? Are you here alone?" Lexi was full of questions.

"I promise I will answer any questions you have. But right now, we need to go!" Rose told her. Lexi nodded vigorously in agreement as Rose worked at the tight knots of the rope.

* * *

Victoria sighed as she found herself heading towards Rose's house. Lexi was missing and Rose was who she had to talk to, but at the same time, she didn't really want to talk to Rose. How would the conversation go? 'Hey, guess what? I'm a witch! So what's new with you?'? She walked up onto the porch anyway. She saw the front door was wide open.

"Rose?!" She hurried inside. Nothing seemed broken, like there would have been if they'd been robbed. A note was on the floor. She frowned and then kneeled down to pick it up. She read it.

"She went after Lexi?" She asked herself. She gasped as she realized the seriousness of this.

"She went after Lexi!" She felt inside her shoulder bag. Her mother's grimoire was still there. She knew a couple spells… Could she do it? She would have to. She ran out of the house and sprinted towards the Salvatore Boarding House.

* * *

Anne punched and hit at the fifth hunter. Her knives were on the floor a few feet away. Both of them were tired of this fist fight. She saw her knives. She kicked the hunter in the head and dove for them.

"You little-." The hunter threw himself on top of her, grabbing at her hands as she reached for her knives.

"Not so fast!" He growled. He grabbed one of the knives before she could.

* * *

Rose grabbed Lexi's arm and they hurried out of the cellar. They ran into the living room and gasped. Anne lied on the floor, a knife plunged in her gut.

"MOM?!" Rose leapt forward, dropping her crossbow. The fifth hunter came up behind Lexi, grabbing her in a chokehold. Rose turned at the sounds of Lexi's struggling against him.

"Not your brightest idea, coming here with her!" The fifth hunter told Rose. He looked like he'd gotten the crap beaten out of him. Good…

"You killed her!" Rose shrieked, starting to cry. Lexi was still struggling to get away, but she was crying at the sight of Anne's body as well.

"You two girls are next!" Suddenly he was off Lexi. Lexi scrambled away, kneeling down on the other side of Anne's body. Elijah and Marshall were each holding one of the hunter's arms to restrain him.

"We can't kill him without the hunter's curse!" Marshall reminded Elijah as they struggled to hold him.

"I know. Don't care." Elijah reached to snap the hunter's neck, but suddenly the hunter was screaming. They dropped him. He went to the floor, holding his head. Victoria walked into the house, her hand outstretched and a grimoire in hand.

"Sorry I'm late!" She said, trying to crack a joke as she obviously tortured the hunter. Elijah kicked the hunter upside the head and he was knocked out. Victoria and Elijah ran over to Anne.

"You… You can heal… her… vampire blood!" Rose said in between sobs. Elijah slowly shook his head.

"Not when she's already dead… I'm sorry." He hugged Rose as she cried against his shoulder. Victoria and Lexi hugged each other, comforting each other. Suddenly the hunter was up again. He decked Marshall, who rolled into the living room. Marshall jumped up again.

"That was a cheap shot!" He yelled. Elijah stood up, leaving Rose with Victoria and Lexi on the floor. He and Marshall prepared to take him together. Suddenly an arrow was in his chest. They both turned to Rose in shock as she held the crossbow, still aimed, as the body fell to the ground.

"Not a vampire. No hunter's curse. Okay then." Marshall said, nodding to himself. Rose dropped the crossbow and started crying again. Elijah went to comfort her again.

* * *

Rose sat on the hood of a cop car, trying to scrub Anne's blood off her hands with a wet-wipe. Anne's body was being loaded into an ambulance and the hunter's body in another. Lexi and Victoria were talking to a pair of cops while Elijah and Marshall talked to some others. They'd come up with some big cover story to tell the cops that didn't involved the supernatural world, but Rose didn't listen. She was thinking about what to tell Grayson. She was thinking about what she was going to do without Anne. She was thinking about how screwed up her life had gotten. Victoria and Lexi walked over to her and sat down on either side of her. She looked between the two of them.

"I'm so sorry! If I hadn't been moping around in the Grill and I hadn't talked to that guy about you, none of this would have-." Lexi started to apologize.

"It's not your fault, Lexi." Rose mumbled. Lexi hugged her. Victoria hugged her from the other side.

"It's gonna be okay." Victoria whispered a weak reassurance to Rose. Rose looked between them again.

"Everything is just so messed up!" She complained, more tears rushing out of her eyes. Lexi rested her head on Rose's shoulder.

"We all know about the supernatural world now… The only thing we can do is help each other through it." Lexi whispered very quietly, so no one could possible over hear her. Victoria and Rose nodded in agreement.

"What am I gonna tell Grayson?" Rose asked.

"You need to decide whether or not to tell him about the supernatural world…" Victoria told her. Rose nodded.

"Are you going to tell Abby and Jamie?"

"No. Not unless I have to. You are right. Everything's screwed up now. We shouldn't involve anyone else unless we really want to."

"I don't want to be involved myself." Rose whispered.

"I don't want to be a witch either." Victoria told her, grabbing Rose's hand and squeezing it. Lexi took Victoria's other hand.

"And I don't want to be a child of two vampires."

"We're going to need therapy." Rose complained.

"The therapist we go to is gonna need therapy." Lexi returned. The three of them giggled a little but then stopped and started crying again.

* * *

That night, Grayson and Rose sat at the kitchen table, across from the family lawyer. As far as Grayson knew, the guy that had kidnapped Lexi was just a physco with a ransom note and Anne and Rose had thought they could handle it themselves. Nothing supernatural involved. The lawyer sighed as he flipped through some paper-work in front of him.

"Well, it says here in the event of Anne's death, you were to go to your next legal guardian." He explained.

"Who's our next legal guardian?" Rose asked. Grayson had his head in his hands, looking miserable and not in the position to think straight enough to ask questions. Rose knew for a fact that Anne had no other family. It made much more sense that she was so desperate to protect her foster kids, now that Rose thought about it.

"You're biological parents requested not to be legal guardians, but they did appoint one from their own family…." The lawyer said slowly.

"Just. Get. On. With. It!" Grayson growled, putting an emphasis on each word, without looking up.

"Very well. You're legal guardian goes by the name of Stefan Salvatore."

* * *

**A/N I think that this episode was the best I've written so far. What do you guys think? And, as you probably already guessed, Stefan will be in the next chapter! **


	6. The Ties That Bind

**A/N Stefan will appear in this episode/chapter.**

* * *

Rose sat up in bed. It had been a week since Anne's death. She felt numb and out of emotions. The house felt cold and empty. The lawyer was going to get into contact with Stefan so that he could come here or bring them to wherever he was. Grayson had spent the night at the Donovan's place. Rose had requested to stay here instead of going to either the Donovan's or to Lexi's. She regretted it now. She hated the house when it was empty. It was big, it was lonely and she felt like she didn't even belong in it. She got out of bed and slowly got dressed in a pair of black jeans, black boots and a black t-shirt. She was just pulling her hair back in a ponytail when there was a knock on the door. She went downstairs and opened it. Marshall was waiting outside on the porch. She started to close the door.

"Hey! Wait! I'm just here to make sure you're still kicking!" Marshall told her. She shot him a look.

"I am. Now go away."

"Fine… Fine... What's up with the black?" He asked.

"I'm mourning the loss of the woman that raised me and loved me like her own. People wear black when they do that."

"Good news is: you're alive!" He told her.

"I'm thrilled. Now leave me alone, Marshall." She shut the door in his face.

* * *

Grayson returned from the Donovan's that afternoon. Rose went to meet him in the living room. He dropped his bag and hugged her tightly. She awkwardly returned it. It wasn't often he gave out hugs.

"I'm just glad you're okay, even if Anne's… not." He explained, pulling away. She could tell he'd been crying. She hugged him again.

"It'll be okay." She whispered. There was another knock on the door. She left his side to go answer it. It was the lawyer.

"Oh, hi. We can talk in the kitchen." She had been very careful not to say the words 'come in' to anyone lately. He nodded and walked inside. They went over to the kitchen. Grayson trailed behind them like a depressed shadow.

"I got into contact with Mr. Salvatore. He said he'll be here by eight tonight. You can talk about living arrangements then, but you will go where he goes. Clear?" The lawyer asked sternly, as if talking to little kids, not teenagers.

"Crystal." Rose told him.

"Whatever." Grayson mumbled.

"Good. Be polite. This man will be taking care of you and I know from experience it is not something a lot of people want to do willingly."

"We got it." Rose told him. She just wanted him to leave. She was tired of talking about all of this.

"Alright. I'll be going. Remember what I've told you!" He said, heading for the door again. Grayson called him a creative name under his breath.

"I will." Rose promised, going to shut the door behind him. Once the front door was shut, she looked over at Grayson.

"I don't like him." She said.

"Join the club!" He told her. That was how they bonded; over dislike for someone else. Rose walked over to him.

"So do you want lunch? I can attempt some top ramen or sandwiches… Tell me you ate already." She pleaded.

"Victoria made me some grilled cheese sandwiches already." He assured her. She nodded, relieved. She was a terrible cook.

"Good. I'll whip up something for dinner." She promised.

"Or we can order pizza." He suggested.

"I like your idea better." She admitted.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?"

"I miss Anne already." Rose hugged him again.

"Me too."

* * *

That night, Rose was lying on her bed, eating pizza and watching the clock like it was a bomb about to go off. It was a couple minutes after eight when the door ran. She put her plate down and jumped off the bed.

"I've got it, Grayson!" She yelled. His bedroom door stayed close; he hadn't planned on getting it himself anyway. She walked over to the front door and opened it. Stefan looked up at her, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Hey." She offered an awkward greeting. He was just staring at her in shock. She realized after a second why.

"Oh, yeah. Petrova doppelganger. I look exactly like Elena." She said, nodding and looking down. He recovered his voice.

"I just didn't expect… Stefan Salvatore." He tried to stick out his hand, but it was blocked by the doorway since he hadn't been invited in.

"Normally, I wouldn't invite you in, being a vampire and all, but since you're the dude that's gonna be my legal guardian… come in." She backed up to let him in. He walked inside the house and then stuck out his hand again.

"Stefan."

"Rose." She returned. They shook hands. Rose looked up the stairs as she shut the front door.

"GRAYSON! Come downstairs!" She called. They heard the bedroom door open upstairs. Grayson hesitantly walked downstairs. He reached the bottom stair and looked at Stefan in confusion.

"What are you? Seventeen?" He asked.

"Older than that. I age well. Stefan Salvatore." Stefan stuck out a hand again. Grayson shook it.

"Grayson. Bye." He spun on his heel and jogged upstairs and into his bedroom again. Rose sighed.

"Sorry. He's been having a hard time lately." She mumbled. Stefan nodded understandingly.

"He doesn't know about the supernatural world, I'm guessing?" He asked.

"No." She told him in a 'do not tell him' kind of way. He nodded again.

"Okay, then."

"So are we going to have to come to wherever you live or-."

"No, no… I thought that we could just stay here. You grew up here, so it's not fair to take you away." He explained. Rose nodded.

"Thank you. Don't you have any bags or stuff to bring in?" She asked.

"Yeah, they're in the car."

"Great... Why don't you get them while I will go get the room ready?" She suggested. He nodded and then left the house again. She went upstairs and into Anne's bedroom. She'd already packed up Anne's stuff. She grabbed the last box of Anne's things to move it to the hall storage closet. She looked around the room. _I miss you, Anne-… Mom_, she thought to herself.

"Rose?" She turned at the sound of her name towards Stefan, who was waiting in the doorway.

"Okay, the room's ready." She brushed past him and shoved the box into the hall closet. Stefan followed her.

"I'm sorry about your foster mom." He told her. She stiffened as she turned to look at him.

"Thanks. But you are not the one I want to take my anger out on." He raised an eyebrow, a silent question. She sighed.

"I have to ask you one question, just one." She said. He nodded, looking slightly confused.

"Why did my real parents abandon me?"

"Rose… They didn't want to. You have to believe that. But they couldn't let anything happen to you. You and Grayson meant the world to them. But they thought that if you stayed with them, either they would hurt you by accident or someone else would for revenge. They thought this was the best life for you. They just wanted to give you your best chance. They have regretted it and thought about you every day since they made the decision to send you here. I have never seen them so miserable." When Stefan finished, Rose started crying. Stefan hugged her, pulling her close.

"Stefan?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"Please don't leave me. Grayson and I need you now. Please." She pleaded. He shook his head.

"I'll be here for you as long as you need me." He promised.

"Why didn't my real mom and dad come?"

"They still think it's best for you if they're not there. They don't want to hurt you anymore."

"I think I'm already broken."

"Broken things can be fixed." They pulled away. Rose wiped at her eyes and then looked up at him.

"Is Caroline coming?"

"Not unless I ask her to. Lexi's-."

"Your daughter and you don't want to hurt her either, yeah, I know. She misses you guys too." Rose told him. He nodded, slowly, pain apparent in his eyes.

"I know. But it's complicated."

"Yeah. A lot of things are." There was a knock on the door. Rose sighed. _I'm popular today_, she thought.

"I'll get that. You can get… um, settled." She turned and hurried down the stairs. She opened the front door. Elijah was waiting there. The sight of him reminded Rose of the last time she'd seen him. When Anne died… She started crying. Elijah stepped into the house and she hugged him. He held her close, letting her cry. A minute later, Stefan came downstairs. Elijah looked up. Rose pulled away from him.

"Stefan, this is Elijah Mikaelson. Elijah, this is my uncle Stefan Salvatore." Both of them looked awkward at the last names.

"Mikaelson, huh?" Stefan asked, speaking first.

"Yeah… Klaus's son." Stefan gave Elijah a 'drop dead' look at that. Rose sighed and looked at Elijah.

"Maybe you should…"

"Yeah. I was just checking up on you."

"I'm… better. And could you tell your brother to stay away from me?"

"Gladly. Won't listen, but I'll pass it on." He walked out of the house. Rose shut the door after him and looked at Stefan.

"Don't trust the Mikaelson's." He warned.

"He's the only one that I trust as far as I can throw any of them." She assured him. She left out the part about how she'd only met two of them and the second one was hardly likable. He nodded.

"I'm just going to go to bed if that's okay." She added.

"Of course." He stepped out of her way as she walked upstairs. She went to her bedroom, stripped off her clothes and got into her pajamas instead. When she went into the laundry room to put her clothes into the hamper, she saw a stack of her clothes waiting on the counter with something wrapped up in pink paper sitting on top of it. Obviously it had been there for a while.

"Anne." She said knowingly as she walked over to it. She took the stack up to her bedroom and quietly shut her door behind her. She ripped the paper off the object. She saw it was a diary. She flipped it open to the first page. Anne had written a message for her in it.

_Rose, _

_I know that lately it's been a bet hectic. If you want to talk about it, I'll always be here. But if you don't, here's this. I thought you might want it. _

_-Your mom, Anne. _

Rose stared at it, willing herself not to cry. Then she grabbed a pen from her desk and flipped it to the empty second page.

_Dear Diary, _

_Anne said that she would always be here. She didn't know how wrong she was, did she? Stefan's here now. He's going to be our legal guardian. My biological parents never showed up. They don't want to hurt me. But they don't know how much they're hurting me by trying not to…_


	7. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

**A/N I really hope you guys like this episode since I'm introducing another character to the mix. Please review and tell me what you think! **

* * *

Rose ventured downstairs into the kitchen. She jumped a little when she saw Stefan there. He looked at her questioningly.

"Forgot you were here." She explained, going over to him. He was cooking eggs and bacon on the stove, enough for several people.

"You didn't have to cook breakfast. Although, it's best you did. I suck at cooking." She told him. He laughed, as if that was the best joke in the world. It was her turn to give him a questioning look.

"Your mother sucked at cooking too." He explained. She nodded slowly. She went over to the fridge and grabbed a coke. Grayson came downstairs.

"Hey, little brother." She greeted him.

"Hey." He returned dryly. He grabbed a coke from the fridge too.

"I made breakfast." Stefan announced to him. Stefan divided the food into three plates and handed two to Rose and Grayson. They sat down at the kitchen table and ate in silence. Grayson's phone buzzed about five minutes into their silent meal. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it.

"I'm gonna meet Liv, Matt and Abby." He hurried out of the house without another word. Rose watched him leave.

"Liv is Tyler's daughter, Matt is Jeremy's son and Abby is Bonnie's daughter, right?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah. The four of them are best friends." Rose told him. She collected the empty dishes and put them into the sink.

"Are you gonna ask about Lexi?" Rose asked, looking over her shoulder at him. He stood up from the table, keeping his eyes down.

"Not sure I want to know." He admitted.

"Well, she's fine, for the record. She knows about the supernatural world. You should meet her. She looks like Caroline. Not doppelganger alike, but normal mother-daughter alike." Rose explained. He said nothing.

"You can't just lock yourself in the house and cook for us like a butler, Uncle Stefan." Rose added.

"I know… I'm just still deciding…"

"How to tell your daughter you came back, but only for your niece, not for her?" Rose suggested. He nodded.

"Well, I'm going out. You do whatever you want." She told him. She jogged upstairs and grabbed her jacket and her diary. Then she hurried out the front door. She walked across town and to the graveyard. She paused, looking at some of the names on the tombstones.

JENNA SOMMERS

GRAYSON AND MIRANDA GILBRERT

JOHN GILBERT

She sighed and just walked past them. She settled herself down in front of Anne's graveyard. She opened her diary and flipped it to a new page.

_Dear Diary, _

_I've tried to convince Stefan to go meet Lexi. Not sure how I did. I want her, at least, to know one of her parents. _

A sound behind her made her stop writing. She turned but saw nothing behind her. Something flashed in front of her, vampire-speed. She grabbed her phone, stumbling back against the tombstone. She dialed Stefan's number, knowing he would get her quicker than Marshall or Elijah. She put the phone to her ear, looking around. He answered it on the first ring.

"_Rose?_"

"Stefan, I think there's a vampire here."

"_Where are you?!_" Suddenly someone was right in front of her. It was like looking a mirror. Rose was staring at someone identical to her, if you excuse the differencing in clothing. The doppelganger smiled at her and snatched the phone.

"False alarm. I must be seeing things. I will see you at home…. Okay. Bye." She hung up the phone and rolled her eyes.

"So easy, pretending to be another doppelganger." She said.

"Who are you?" Rose asked, trying to back up but getting stopped by the tombstone. The doppelganger smiled at her.

"The name's Susannah King. Vampire doppelganger. Born in eighteen-fifty. Answer all your questions? Good." She darted behind Rose and got her in a choke-hold. She cut off Rose's airway. Rose struggled against her, but eventually passed out from lack of air. Susannah smiled giddily.

* * *

Rose woke up tied to a chair. She looked around. It looked like she was in a living room of a house. She looked down. She was in another set of clothes. She frowned. The door opened and Susannah entered, dressed in Rose's clothes.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" She skipped over to Rose, a very childlike thing to do. Rose glared at her.

"Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?" Rose demanded. Susannah rolled her eyes.

"Nothing. Don't be so dramatic. I just need one thing: an actual life. A vampire born in the eighteen hundreds? Yeah, not so easy to just get into a family, F.Y.I. But taking over another doppelganger's life… Easy."

"So that's your master plan? Take over my life. That's not going to work very well." Rose told her.

"Really? Because I just spent an hour at your house and your uncle and brother couldn't tell the difference."

"So you want a life? Get your own." Rose told her.

"Were you not listening to me? I can't!"

"So you're going to pretend to be another girl? That's pathetic."

"You, of all people, do not get to insult _me_. You are at my mercy right now." Susannah reminded her.

"You are such a-." Rose started. Susannah interrupted her with a swift slap across the face that stung like ice water. Rose gasped.

"Oh, don't look so shocked, mini-me. That's the nicest thing you're going to get. Now… I have a few questions for you." Susannah pulled up a chair and settled herself in front of Rose.

"Who, exactly, are your parents?" Susannah asked. Rose debated lying, but what was the point? That was a question she doubted anyone would ask anyway.

"Elena and Damon Salvatore."

"Grayson is your brother, correct?"

"Yes."

"Biological."

"Yes."

"What's your relationship with Stefan?"

"He's my uncle on my dad's side."

"Not what I meant! Happy, close or cold and detached?" Rose thought now was a good a time as any to start screwing her up.

"Detached. He protects me, but I want nothing to do with him."

"And that Mikaelson boy, Elijah, your relationship with him?"

"Hate him."

"And his brother, Marshall?"

"Dating him."

"Victoria Donovan?"

"Hate her. With a passion."

"Lexi Salvatore?"

"Cousin. Nothing more. Wish it was less."

"Will Saltzman?"

"Hate him almost as much as Victoria."

"Alaric and Matt Gilbert?"

"Second-cousins. Wish they weren't related to me at all."

"Favorite color? I need to know what to wear."

"Love pink. Hate black and blue."

"School habits?"

"I skip a lot. Sassy to the teachers. Bad student, really."

"Do you normally sass Stefan?"

"Oh, all the time! Bossy to Grayson. Demand to be in control of Marshall. I'm a control freak, really."

"Lovely. I think I'll go find your little boyfriend." Susannah left, closing the door behind her. As soon as the door was shut, Rose smirked. _I'll be out of here in no time_….

* * *

Well, 'no time' turned in a couple hours. Susannah still hadn't returned, so Rose began rocking the chair back and forth, attempting to knock the chair over. She succeeded, but didn't have enough force to break it. She lied there, sideways, tied to a chair, wondering where in life she screwed up so badly that fate decided to take her here. The door opened. Rose craned her neck, trying to see who it was. Lexi and Victoria ran into view.

"Oh, jeez, what did you do that for, Rose?" Victoria asked, rolling her eyes. Lexi and Victoria swiftly picked up the chair and set it right again. Being upright made her head swim a little, but Rose was grateful for it.

"What took you guys so long?" She complained as they got to work untying her.

"Well, we figured out it wasn't you when you told us that you hated us with a passion and then made out with Marshall, but we didn't exactly get 'a doppelganger we have never heard of captured me at 2015 Bushberry Lane' from that. It took a locator spell for that. Stefan, Marshall and Elijah are looking for the other doppelganger before she screws anything else up. We were sent as the sort of 'B-Team'." Lexi explained.

"Thank you." Rose told them. They got Rose untied and helped her to her feet.

"Let's get out of here." Victoria added. They hurried towards the door, but were blocked by Susannah.

"And here I thought you were actually being helpful!" Susannah growled at Rose. Victoria held up her hand. Susannah dropped to the ground, screaming and holding her head. An idea flashed through Rose's mind. She leapt forward and snatched Susannah's daylight ring off her finger. Susannah started burning in the sunlight from the open door. She darted into a corner, screaming even louder now.

"Time to go!" Lexi insisted. They ran out the door. Rose threw the daylight ring as far as she could and then they sprinted away.

* * *

They got back to Rose's house and hurried inside. Stefan, Elijah and Marshall were waiting for them. Elijah hugged Rose tightly. Victoria and Marshall stood there, looking victoriously proud of themselves. Lexi and Stefan just stared at each other, meeting for the first time. Rose pulled away from Elijah to look at her uncle and cousin, wondering who was going to make the first move. As it turns out, Lexi moved first. To slap Stefan. Hard. Rose flinched for him. Everyone slowly backed away, not wanting to be Lexi's next victim.

"You are such a-." Ouch. Creative language. "-and I hate you for abandoning me!" Lexi huffed, turned on her heel and walked out of the house without another word. Rose looked at Stefan, who was holding his cheek painfully.

"Well… She's like her mom." He sounded oddly proud of that.

* * *

**A/N Well I was writing the fanfiction, I was thinking about how to put some drama in it and I thought: doppelganger. It's the Vampire Diaries; you gotta have doppelgangers. Also, I remember thinking all the time when I was watching The Vampire Diaries why there was never a doppelganger from the eighteen-hundreds. In season five, it says the doppelgangers (from the Silas and Petrova line) were supposed to be together. That would mean if there was a Silas doppelganger in the eighteen hundreds (in this case, Stefan), there would have to be an Amara doppelganger too, right? That's why Susannah was written in. She'll serve as the Katherine of this series, but with slightly different motives and a different personality. Also, for the record, she will not date Stefan. He's with Caroline, remember? Just wanted to clear that up since I was blabbering on about doppelgangers that were supposed to be together. As always, please review and tell me what you think. **


	8. Scream

**A/N This was one of my favorites to write. I hope you guys like it. As always, please review and tell me what you think. **

* * *

"Ah… Halloween. It meant so much less before we knew of the supernatural world." Victoria said as she, Lexi and Rose gathered by Rose's locker. The school was being decorated for the Halloween party it would hold that night.

"I say we skip it. Stay home. Watch some movies like we did in the old days." Lexi suggested. Victoria sighed.

"Wish I could, Lexi, but Abby's going and you know how I don't like her out alone anymore."

"Grayson's going too. Which means Stefan wants me to go." Rose added. Lexi frowned at the name 'Stefan'.

"You should talk to him." Rose suggested.

"How about… no!" Lexi shot back.

"He's your-." Rose started.

"I am perfectly aware of our biological relationship." Lexi told her in a 'shut up or I will make you shut up' tone of voice.

"Alright. But if my real dad walked in here right now, I would at least talk to him about how I felt about him leaving." Rose told her.

"Good because he's right here with me." Rose spun around towards Stefan, paling at the thought. She hadn't mean _right_ now!

"I'm joking. He's not here." Stefan told her, smiling at her reaction. She let out the breath she'd been holding in, relieved.

"Why are you here?" Lexi asked in a not so kind way. Stefan's smile faded at her hostility.

"I'm the new history teacher. Figured it would be nice if I got a job." He explained. Lexi glared at him.

"Why don't you get a job somewhere far, far away from here?" She hurried off. Stefan stared after her, frowning.

"She's just not used to everything yet." Rose assured him, seeing his expression. He tore his eyes from Lexi's retreating figure to look over at his niece.

"Huh? Oh… Yeah…" He frowned again.

"I'll see you in class." He told her. He hurried off.

"Your uncle as your teacher… You won't be able to get away with any ditching now." Victoria teased. Rose rolled her eyes and shut her locker door.

"With Stefan Salvatore as my uncle, I won't be able to get away with _anything _now."

* * *

Susannah King stood in front of her mirror, straightening out her hair. She stared at her reflection. Memories of her family being slaughtered by vampires flashed through her mind. She slapped her palm down onto the dresser top, hard enough to send the things on top of it shaking and falling off.

"My doppelganger does not get to have the perfect little family life! I deserve that! I deserve more than this!" She told her. She took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror again.

"And tonight, I'll get it."

* * *

Rose stood in front of her mirror, pulling her hair up into a bouncy ponytail. Her cell phone sat on her dresser so that she could talk to Elijah as she got ready.

"_Halloween party? It doesn't sound like your idea of fun, considering everything you know now_." Elijah said. She shrugged, though he couldn't see the movement.

"Grayson wants to go. I'm his older sister, therefore protector. Are you coming?" She asked.

"_Sure, why not? Maybe I'll go as a vampire this year!_" He suggested jokingly. She laughed at that.

"The ironic thing is, no one would actually believe you're a vampire!" She told him.

"_What are you going as?_"

"Three things, actually: me, myself and I. I'm not one to pretend I'm someone else. Oooh! Maybe I'll go as my mom!"

"_Ha, ha, very funny._" He didn't sound that amused. She rolled her eyes and went over to pick up the phone and put it to her ear.

"So are we dating now or what?"

"_I guess we are. I don't suppose your uncle will be thrilled with that_."

"Stefan doesn't get to tell me who I can date. He's here to support me, not to tell me what I can do."

"_Oooh… Rebellious. I like it_."

"I thought you would. I'll meet you at the school?"

"_Of course_."

"Bye."

"_Bye_." Rose left her bedroom and walked over to Grayson's bedroom door. She was just about to knock when he opened the door.

"Ready to go?" He asked her. He wasn't wearing any costume; just his normal t-shirt and ripped jeans.

"Yeah, go ahead to the school, kiddo." She told him. He hurried downstairs. She followed him down, but then went into the kitchen instead of outside. Stefan was there, as usual.

"Hey, I'm about to head out to that Halloween party. Are you coming?" She told him. He looked over at her, debating.

"Lexi will be there…" She tried to entice him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on, Uncle Stefan! If you don't try to reach out to her, then she won't try to reach out to you. You have to make the first move!" Rose told him.

"And she's really welcoming all the first moves I've made." He returned sarcastically.

"Uncle Stefan, you just have to-." Rose started.

"Would it make you happy if I went?" He interrupted with his question. She nodded eagerly. He sighed.

"Then I'll go." She grinned.

"Let's go!" She led him outside. Grayson had already headed towards the school, so Rose and Stefan could walk alone.

"Why are you so interested in Lexi's and my relationship?" Stefan asked. She hesitated before answering.

"I just… If my parents won't come to town, I want her to know her dad. She's always felt different about being fostered and not knowing you and-."

"How has she felt different?"

"Well, everyone else has had a sibling. Well, Will doesn't but he was always really close to Luke, Alaric and Jamie anyhow… But the point is, she didn't have anyone else from her biological family. She felt even more alone and abandoned than we did. Now you're back, but you came back for me and she just feels…" Rose trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Unimportant." Stefan finished for her. Rose nodded slowly. Stefan grimaced at the thought.

"Yeah… Being the only true human in the mix probably doesn't help much. I'm a doppelganger, Victoria's a witch, you're a vampire and Elijah and Marshall are both hybrids… She's the only normal one. Well, she's never been normal and all together in the head, but she's not supernatural." Rose explained.

"Where would she be tonight, do you think?" He asked finally as they entered the school parking lot.

"Since Victoria and I are here, probably here. If you don't find her here, I can call her and find out." Rose was eager to help him reconnect with her.

"Okay." He agreed. He started off to search for her, but then stopped and turned back to look at Rose.

"Stay out of trouble." He warned.

"Yes, Mr. Salvatore. I know I'll get a bad grade on my History homework if I don't." She loved teasing him about being her new teacher. He rolled his eyes.

"Very funny. Go find your brother." He told her. She nodded as he hurried off to find his daughter. As soon as he left, Elijah walked over to her.

"Avoiding me when my uncle is around?" She asked.

"Yes. He scares me." He admitted.

"He's Stefan Salvatore. He scares everyone." She returned. Elijah leaned down and kissed her. She smiled as they pulled away.

"My uncle doesn't get to know about this." She warned in a whisper.

"My lips are sealed." They kissed again, laughing as they did.

* * *

Later on that night, Rose was just finishing off her can of root beer when she saw someone out of the corner of her eye. She spun around. Susannah smiled at her, waiting for her to move. Rose pulled out her phone. Susannah was there in a heartbeat to snatch it out of her hands.

"You want this back? Follow me." Susannah backed out a door, waving Rose's phone. Rose glanced around. Where were your vampire uncle and hybrid boyfriend when you needed them? Then she, against what her common sense was screaming at her, followed Susannah out into the ally behind the school. Susannah smirked at the younger doppelganger.

"You are naïve, aren't you? Smart girls wouldn't have fallen for that so easily." Susannah told her. Rose made a grab for the phone. Susannah held it out of her reach.

"No, no, not yet. We haven't gotten to know each other yet! I mean, if you don't count you, your blonde friend and your witch friend torturing me as getting to know each other."

"You were trying to-." Rose started to protest.

"I know full well what I was trying to do. I was the one doing it, sweetie." Susannah's voice took on a very patronizing tone. Rose said nothing in response to that, so Susannah went on.

"I also thought long and hard about what I was going to do. Now, killing you would do two things for me: make it easier to pretend to be you and give me an odd amount of joy to boot. So you know what I have to do now." Before Rose could react, Susannah's hand shot out, slapping her with vampire strength. She fell to the ground and rolled onto her back to look at Susannah again. Susannah smirked.

"Now this is what I call a party."

* * *

Inside the school, Lexi was talking to Luke and Liv. Liv wasn't listening, though, she was looking around for Grayson, Abby and Matt as much as she could without leaving her big brother's side. Out of the corner of her eye, Lexi saw Stefan. She turned halfway to make sure it was him. She looked back at Luke.

"I've got to go talk to him." She reluctantly walked over to Stefan and they both ducked into an empty classroom. They both just stared at each other, not sure what to say.

"I-." They both started at once. They both stopped to let the other one go first. They stayed silent for a minute.

"How's teaching?" Lexi finally asked awkwardly.

"Good, good. It's actually kind of familiar. One of my best friends was a history teacher here."

"Mr. Saltzman, right? Will's dad?"

"Yeah." They both nodded for too long it to be a casual motion and then fell silent once more.

* * *

In another part of the school, Victoria was dialing Rose's number. It would be faster to call her than look around the entire school for her. She ducked into a corner by a door to an ally where it was a little quieter. Victoria heard Rose's familiar ring tone close by. She glanced at the door to the ally and then opened it. Susannah had Rose by the throat against the wall, choking her. Victoria hurried forward, letting the door slam shut behind her. She raised her hand. Susannah fell back, clutching at her head again. Rose fell to the ground, conscious but weak.

"Not this time you little…" Susannah trailed off and then, with a burst of strength, darted behind Victoria and grabbed her in a choke hold in order to bite into her neck. Rose looked at her in shock.

"NO!"

* * *

Stefan turned his head, listening to something as he and Lexi sat awkwardly in the classroom still.

"What is it? Is Timmy in the well?" Lexi asked sarcastically.

"Rose!" He darted out of the classroom.

"What?!" Lexi called after him. He was long gone already. She sighed and hurried to follow him.

* * *

In the ally, Susannah let Victoria's unconscious body fall. She licked her lips and smirked to herself.

"Witch blood… Better than it sounds." She darted forward, grabbing Rose's wrist as she grabbed a stake from a pile of wooden scraps. She let her fangs extend again and was just about to bite down on Rose's neck when suddenly she was off her. She flew into a school bus and then hit the cement, hard. Stefan raced after her to continue the fight. Lexi ran into the ally behind him and over to Victoria's limp form. Rose raced over to them too, worry apparent on her face. Susannah grabbed Stefan by the throat.

"I'm the same age as you, Salvatore. And something tells me that I've fed more recently." She threw him back onto the ground. He scrambled to his feet. By Victoria and Lexi, Rose grabbed her phone from the ground and dialed Elijah's number. She put the phone to her ear as Susannah and Stefan punched each other out, each healing fast and keeping at it. It was too close of a fight for her not to worry.

"_Rose? Where are you?_" Elijah asked. She wanted to scream at him because his voice was so calm and casual. _Oh you know, about to watch my best friend and uncle die at the hands of an evil doppelganger. How about you? _She thought bitterly.

"In the ally behind the school. Susannah's here. Please hurry!" She begged into the phone.

"_Be right there_." He hung up. Rose spun around towards Stefan. Susannah had knocked him to the ground and grabbed a stake. A split second later, Elijah burst into the ally and grabbed Susannah by the throat. She reached behind her and stabbed him in the chest with the stake. Rose let out a little scream that made Lexi stand and turn around worriedly. Elijah yanked the stake out of his chest, seemingly un-phased.

"I'm a different kind of vampire." Elijah told Susannah when she looked horrified. He stabbed at her, but she darted out of the way before he could. She grabbed another stake and backed away from him. Stefan had climbed to his feet by now, ready to keep fighting her. Susannah glanced around the ally. Then, faster that Rose could see, she flung the stake towards Lexi. Stefan darted forward. The stake sunk into his chest and he fell to the ground. Lexi and Rose both cried out in shock. Elijah darted over to Susannah and bit into her shoulder. She screamed and fell back when he let her go. Elijah wiped the blood off his mouth.

"Werewolf venom. Very painful way to die. Have fun with that." Elijah's morals got questionable when someone messed with his friends. Susannah darted away. He hurried over to Victoria. Rose was frozen in place for a second and then turned towards Victoria and Elijah. Elijah was feeding Victoria his blood to heal her. Rose looked at Stefan and Lexi. The stake hadn't gone into Stefan's heart, though it had been close. Lexi yanked the stake out of his chest and threw away from her. He coughed, clutching at his bleeding chest. It healed, leaving nothing, not even a scar. Lexi gasped in relief and did something unexpected: she hugged him. Surprised, he hugged her back as she cried into his shoulder. Victoria gasped as she woke up. Rose forced a smile onto her face and hugged her.

* * *

Stefan walked Lexi home later. The house was dark except for the porch light.

"My foster parents are on a camping trip. They're gone more often that not…" She explained, seeing Stefan's expression. He nodded and started to leave.

"Stef-… Dad!" He froze at that and looked back at her. She ran over to him and hugged him again.

"If… if that stake had gone into your heart… It would have killed you, right?" She asked, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Yeah, but-."

"You didn't hesitate." She interrupted, pulling away to look at him.

"Of course not." He told her, brushing some hair out of her eyes.

"You always talk about how hard it was for Elena and Damon to leave, but…" She trailed off.

"Leaving you was the hardest thing I have ever done." She glanced at the dark house and then looked back at him.

"They are going be gone all weekend… Can I stay with you?"

"Of course. Come on."

* * *

Victoria examined her healed neck wound. She would never get used to everything supernatural in this town. There was nothing on her neck to suggest she'd been almost killed by a vampire who looked exactly like her best friend. She had blood all over her shirt, though. She heard a knock on her door.

"One sec!" She called. She pulled her shirt off, threw it into the back of her closet and then slipped into a t-shirt. She opened her bedroom door to see a pale, shaking Abby there.

"Abby! What's wrong?" Victoria demanded, pulling her into the bedroom and pushing her gently onto the bed. Abby raised her eyes to met Victoria's.

"Remember how I said everything about that night I got attacked was all blurry? I remembered… I was attacked by a vampire!"

* * *

Susannah all but crawled into the house.

"MADELINE!" She screamed. She crawled onto the couch as a red haired girl came out from the bedroom.

"Is that a werewolf bite?!" Madeline ran over to Susannah to examine her wound. Susannah nodded.

"Hybrid bite, actually. I thought you said Klaus was in New Orleans!"

"He is! My witches there would have told me if he left!"

"What about his sons?"

"Oh… Oh! I didn't even think about them…." Madeline frowned.

"Fix me!" Susannah demanded. Madeline snapped out of her thoughts.

"A little gratitude that I'm helping you at all would be nice!" Madeline told her, grabbing a grimoire from a bookshelf.

"You're my best friend. Gratitude was implied." Susannah told her.

"Suzie…" Madeline urged her on.

"Thank you, Maddie."

"You're welcome. I'm an immortal witch. I could do much more than hang around here and heal you from werewolf bites when you screw things up." Madeline huffed as she flipped through the spell-book.

"Well, I think I might let you come out and play soon…"

* * *

**A/N Caroline will soon appear, now that Lexi and Stefan have a nice father-daughter relationship. Damon and Elena aren't going to appear for a while yet, though, so don't hold your breath. The next couple episodes I'm going to use some of the younger characters (Abby, Grayson, Matt, Liv) in the plot. Like the TV series, I'm going to try and make this season last 20 to 22 episodes. As I said above and always say, please review and tell me what you think! I really love getting reviews! **


	9. It's My Birthday, I Can Die If I Want To

**A/N This is probably the longest episode I've written. I hope you guys like it. Please review! **

* * *

Caroline was hurriedly packing a suitcase, holding her cell phone between her head and her shoulder.

"Who does she look more like? You or me?" She asked excitedly, throwing a summer dress into the suitcase.

"_You. Very blonde, curly hair. Almost as beautiful as you are._" Stefan told her. She smiled.

"Aww, thanks." Just then, Damon knocked on her door. She shot him a look. It didn't matter how long she had known him; she still hated him.

"I've got to call you back. See you when I get there."

"_Damon walked in?_" Stefan asked all too knowingly.

"Yep."

"_Okay. I'll see you later. Bye_."

"Bye." She hung up and then looked at Damon, narrowing her eyes at him.

"What do you want?" She asked him. For once, he didn't have his usual trademark smirk on.

"I… uh… I wanted to ask a favor." Okay, that was a surprise. Damon never asked Caroline for anything, unless you counted him asking her to shut the heck up.

"What?" She asked suspiciously, folding her arms across her chest. He held out two envelopes for her.

"Could you... give these to Grayson and Rose?" He asked. She took the envelopes from him. On the front the names 'Grayson' and 'Rose' were neatly written in Elena's handwriting. She nodded to him.

"Of course. I'll make sure that they get them." She promised. He nodded and turned to leave.

"Damon!" He turned again.

"Who knew that Damon Salvatore actually had a heart?" She asked teasingly. His smirk returned.

"Who knew that Caroline Forbes had a brain? Oh wait, everyone knows she doesn't!" He left the room. She rolled her eyes and then tucked the envelopes safely into her purse.

* * *

Grayson went into Rose's room early in the morning. Lexi had been staying with them and they were both in the bed, Rose's TV remote between them and surrounded by stuffed animals and junk food wrappers.

"ROSE! LEXI!" Both girls jumped and fell out of bed at his shout. He had to laugh at them.

"What is wrong with you?" Rose demanded, pushing herself up and onto her feet again. Grayson shrugged.

"It's called awesomeness. Don't worry; I already know you're immune to it." He told her. She shot him a look, but Lexi couldn't help but laugh.

"What do you want?" Rose asked after they had stopped laughing.

"It's Abby's birthday; we're going to the Grill to celebrate tonight, which means you have to drive me." Grayson informed her.

"I _have_ to drive you?" She asked.

"Older sister; it's in the contract." He told her.

"You're not something I ordered willingly; I didn't sign anything when you came to the door." Rose told him.

"Would you please drive me?" He tried a nicer approach.

"Sure. Lexi and I are going there anyway." She told him. He nodded and left the room again. He went downstairs where Stefan was making breakfast.

"Hey, kiddo." Stefan greeted him.

"Hey, Uncle Stefan."

"I'm assuming that yell wasn't something I have to handle?" Stefan asked.

"Nah. Just me getting the girls up." He replied. Just then, Lexi and Rose hurried downstairs, now dressed and wide awake.

"Hey, Uncle Stefan." Rose greeted him.

"Hey, Stefan." Lexi couldn't call Stefan 'dad' around anyone but Rose, Victoria and the Mikaelson's. As far as Grayson knew, Stefan was the youngest brother and Lexi's real father was his much older brother. It was hard enough convincing Grayson that Stefan was a legal adult; it would be even harder to explain why Stefan was her father when they looked the same age.

"What's for breakfast?" Lexi asked.

"Eggs, bacon and toast." He dished it out to everyone and they went to the dinning room table to eat.

* * *

That night, they were at the Grill to celebrate Abby's sixteenth birthday. As Lexi, Victoria and Liv all agreed, the sixteenth birthday was always the best and there should be a big party to celebrate it. So there was. Somehow, Victoria and Jamie had gotten a live band to play. Balloons, party streamers and lots of glitter were around the Grill, who had graciously rented itself out to them for the night. It was going to be a heck of a clean-up, though… Rose made her way through the crowd and over to Abby, who was talking to some of her school friends. As they saw Rose, they quickly said their goodbyes and hurried off to let Rose talk to Abby. Rose handed her a poorly wrapped present.

"Sorry about the wrapping." Rose told her, speaking louder than usual to be heard over the music. Abby smiled as she took it.

"Like I care about what's on the outside. It's the inside that counts." She returned, ripping it off. Rose just stared at her. She was pretty sure she had just heard one of the wisest sayings in her life from her little brother's best friend and she was talking about a birthday present… Abby finished ripping off the wrapping to reveal the silver jewelry box with the letter 'A' spelled out in jewels on top.

"I love it! Thank you so much!" Abby hugged Rose as thanks, keeping the jewelry box in one hand.

"Glad you like it. And Grayson's coming over." Rose nodded towards her brother and Abby looked over at him. Rose smiled and then left so they could be alone. Abby put the jewelry box on a nearby table and took the small box that Grayson handed her. She smiled at him as she opened it. She pulled out the silver chain with the blue marble-like stone hanging from it.

"It's beautiful, Grayson! Put it on me?" She asked, handing it over to him. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, sure, turn around." She turned and pulled up her long brown hair. He put it around her neck and then latched it. His fingers brushed the scar on her neck. A memory of a humanoid figure attacking her and biting her flashed through her mind. She flinched.

"Sorry, is it too tight?" Grayson asked her. She turned around, dropping her hair again, to look at him.

"No, it's perfect. Thanks." She hugged him and then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She didn't see how red he got when she did that.

"If anyone asks, can you tell them I'm in the bathroom?" Without waiting for his response, she hurried through the crowd and into the girl's bathroom. When she was sure it was empty, she leaned against the sink in front of the mirror. She brushed her hair aside and ran her fingers over the scar on her neck. Despite the doctor's best efforts, the bite mark was still apparent if you knew where to look for it. She stared at it in the mirror. That was not an animal bite… The same memory flashed through her head again and again. She was breathing hard. She felt the walls closing in on her. She hurried out of the bathroom and through the back door into the ally behind the Grill to take a breath of fresh air.

"Are you okay?" She turned towards the concerned female voice.

"Oh, hey, Rose… Yeah, I just… uh… needed some air." She explained.

"Hmm, well, slight problem."

"Huh?" Abby asked, confused.

"I'm not Rose. My name's Susannah King and I think we're going to have fun together tonight."

* * *

Lexi talked with Stefan and Rose at a table inside the Grill.

"My mom's really coming to town?" Lexi asked excitedly. Stefan nodded. Lexi grinned and then saw Rose's face.

"Oh… _My_ mom is coming to town. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so excited when-." Lexi started.

"No, no, you should. You get to meet your mother. It's good." Rose assured her. Lexi nodded. She saw Abby slip out the back door into the ally and frowned.

"What?" Stefan asked, looking over his shoulder to see what she was looking at. Since the door was already shut, he saw nothing.

"Abby… I'm going to go talk to her." She got up and hurried out of the Grill after the youngest Donovan girl. Victoria slid into Lexi's vacant seat.

"Abby knows."

"Abby knows what?" Rose asked.

"She knows she was attacked by a vampire." Victoria whispered. She told them this now because this was the first time she'd gotten Rose away from anyone who didn't know about the supernatural world and she was reluctant to tell them, knowing what Stefan would suggest. Stefan frowned.

"I could compel her-."

"No! Please don't mess with her mind. I'll figure it out. But we have to keep her away from the supernatural world."

* * *

Lexi went out into the ally.

"Abby, are you-." She started. She froze and shut up when she saw Susannah standing in front of Abby.

"Oh, hey, Lexi. Look, I swear I found Rose's long lost twin." Abby told her, oblivious to the danger.

"Yeah… Hey, go get Rose's Uncle Stefan. Right now." Lexi told her, edging forward to get closer to them.

"Why-." Abby started to ask with a confused expression. Then Susannah grabbed her in a choke hold.

"Lexi. Be a good girl and bring Rose out, would you?" Susannah asked. When Lexi hesitated, Susannah tightened her grip. Abby struggled against her, but it was no use; she was no where near as strong as Susannah was.

"Hey, hey, there is no need for violence!" Lexi tried to keep her voice level and calm for Abby's sake.

"You are totally right. There isn't. As long as you do what I say. If you don't, then-." She extended her fangs and prepared to bite into Abby's shoulder. Lexi ran forward and shoved Susannah off her, knocking them both to the ground and Abby towards the door.

* * *

Grayson looked around the Grill, searching for Abby. Finally, he asked one of the girls from their school if she had seen her.

"Oh, yeah, I think she went out into the ally." She hurried off again. Grayson frowned and then went out to the ally to check. The second he opened the door, Abby slammed into him.

"Whoa. What's going-?" He started to ask. Then he saw Susannah and Lexi. Susannah had Lexi by the throat.

"Rose, what-?!" He started to ask another question.

"Not Rose, but speaking of her, why don't you run along and get her?" Susannah asked, holding Lexi down on the ground with one hand. Abby and Grayson hesitated, but then hurried back into the Grill.

* * *

Caroline parked her car in front of the Grill. She was giddy with the thought of finally meeting her daughter. The nine months and two days she'd spent with her before she was born and when she was an infant didn't really count as 'meeting' her. She climbed out of her car and headed for the front door of the Grill. A crashing sound in the ally made her pause. She should probably check that out… She sighed and went around to the ally. There was time to check that out and then meet her daughter. Besides, she still had to rehearse her opening line to Lexi. Just saying 'hey, I'm your mom that totally left you here with a foster family with no intention of ever coming back' didn't sound quite right, even to her, the awkward say-what-comes-to-mind Caroline Forbes. She went into the ally. She gasped at what she saw. A girl that looked exactly like Elena had a girl that looked a little like Caroline herself by the throat as they both thrashed around in a fight. Recognition flashed through Caroline's brain. Lexi. Caroline charged forward towards the Elena-Doppelganger.

* * *

Abby and Grayson sprinted over to Rose, Stefan and Victoria's table, pale and breathing heavy.

"Hey, what's going on?" Stefan asked, instantly concerned. The three of them stood up from the table. Abby pointed towards the ally, but it was Grayson that spoke.

"A chick that looks exactly, and I mean _exactly_, like Rose is fighting with Lexi out there!" Stefan was off running before Grayson got out the last two words.

"Stay in here!" Victoria ordered the two of them before she and Rose hurried out after Stefan.

* * *

Caroline kicked the doppelganger in the stomach. Susannah went down to the ground but got up laughing.

"Let's see. Blonde, braver than she is smart and has a fashion sense. You must be… Caroline?" The doppelganger asked.

"Who are you?" Caroline demanded. Behind her, Lexi got to her feet, staring in shock at Caroline. Was that seriously her mother? She pictured her as… older.

"Susannah King. Petrova Doppelganger, as you probably guessed already." Susannah did a dramatic little bow.

"Lovely. I thought we were done with Doppelgangers when Katherine kicked the bucket." Caroline muttered. Susannah shot forward, punching Caroline and sending her to the ground. Caroline kicked her in the ankle and then jumped on top of her, wrapping her hands around her neck.

"Stay. Away. From. My. _Daughter_." She put an emphasis on each word, especially the last one. Suddenly Stefan ran into the ally. Susannah shoved Caroline off her and darted off. She knew when it was time to hold and time to fold. Caroline pulled herself off the ground.

"Caroline!" Stefan ran over to her. They hugged and then kissed each other. Just then, Rose and Victoria came into the ally.

"Doppelganger!" Caroline cried, pointing over Stefan's shoulder. He turned to see Rose's genuine 'are you seriously that stupid' look aimed at Caroline. Sometimes she was a lot like Damon…

"That's Rose. Elena and Damon's daughter." Stefan informed Caroline. Caroline looked at Rose again in surprise.

"Not to interrupt, but… Hi!" Lexi piped up. Caroline looked over at her, remembering she was there and smiling because of it.

"Lexi?" Caroline asked just to be sure.

"Hey, mom!" They hugged each other.

* * *

Later that night, Grayson sat in shock in his bedroom. Rose ventured in and sat down on his bed next to him.

"Hey." She greeted him.

"Hey." He returned dryly. Stefan had told him all about the supernatural world. It was a shock, of course.

"Are you-?" Rose started to ask.

"Fine? No. No, I am not!" Grayson told her. They were both silent for a minute before he spoke again.

"You lied to me. This whole time you were lying to me!"

"I didn't want to! But can't you see why I did? This… this isn't something you should be involved in!"

"It's not up to you to decide what I should and shouldn't know!" He shot back.

"Grayson-."

"The uncle I live with happens to be a vampire! My best friend's older sister is a witch! My sister is a doppelganger so people are trying to kill her! What part of that wasn't important enough for me to know?!" He demanded.

"I'm sorry, Grayson! Okay? I am! But in the past couple of weeks, I've almost been killed at least three times! I didn't want that for you." Rose explained. Grayson put his head in his hands.

"This sucks."

"Vampires tend to suck, yeah." Rose couldn't help herself. They both laughed for the first time all night. There was a knock on the door and Caroline poked her head in hesitantly.

"Hey, I… uh… was wondering if you guys had a second to spare for your ole' Aunt Caroline."

"Of course." Rose assured her. She came into the bedroom and pulled two envelopes out of her jacket pocket.

"These are from your parents." She handed them to Grayson and Rose. As they looked down at them, she slid out of the room again to let them have some privacy. Rose and Grayson exchanged looks and then Rose went to her own bedroom so that they could read their own letters by themselves.

* * *

Abby sat on Victoria's bed, crying as she thought about everything that had happened. Victoria held her close, trying to comfort her.

"So… I… I…might be a…a witch…and…vampires…exist?" She choked out between sobs. Victoria nodded, not releasing her sister from the tight hug as she did so.

"I…I don't know…what…what to do!" Abby complained. Victoria nodded again. She could understand that.

"I know it's hard… But it'll get easier." Victoria lied. It never got easier, looking over your shoulder every time you were alone… Looking at a stranger and not thinking 'hey, he's hot' but 'what supernatural creature is he'… Seeing that Abby was still crying, Victoria made a promise to her.

"I'll take care of you. Nothing will ever hurt you."

* * *

Caroline trudged downstairs and flopped onto the couch next to Lexi, who as scribbling away on a homework sheet. Lexi paused and looked up at Caroline.

"You look upset." Lexi noted, putting down her pencil. Stefan looked in on them from the doorway to the kitchen.

"I'm the type of girl that wants to help people. I want to help Grayson and Rose. The thing that will help Grayson and Rose is meeting their parents, my friends. I can't convince my friends to come meet them… Then there's the part where I look the same age as my daughter." Caroline complained.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You look _much_ older than me." Lexi teased. Caroline laughed and hit at her with a pillow.

"Hey!" Lexi protested, raising her hands to shield her head. Caroline put the pillow down, both of them laughing.

"I'm glad I came back to MysticFalls." Caroline told Lexi after they'd caught their breath.

"I'm glad you came back too."

"Do you want some help with that?" Caroline asked, motioning towards Lexi's homework.

"I'm really good at anything historical that happened in the last thirty so years." Caroline added.

"Oh my gosh, it's like you're a historian! Everyone on Earth should go to you for historical help!" Sarcasm. She got it from the Salvatore side of the family. Caroline laughed and hit her with the pillow again.

* * *

Grayson sat in his bedroom, reading his letter from his parents.

_Grayson, _

_I can guess it's been hard for you, losing Anne. I lost my mom and dad too. And my aunt. And my uncle. But the point is: it will get better. I'm sorry for not coming, but I made the choice to give you a better chance without me and I'm sticking to it, no matter how hard it is. _

_But just know this: I love you. Always. _

_~Your mother, Elena. _

_Grayson, _

_So I had planned this short, funny, sarcastic note, but now, staring at what your mother wrote above… it just wouldn't fit right. Now, I'm not the touchy-feely type of guy. I'm the ouchy-bleedy type of guy. I have a feeling you're not a touch-feely type of guy either because we're guys. Dudes. Men. Males without a 'fe' in front. So let's pretend that I wrote something really touchy and heart-felt for everyone who actually cares. _

_But, for the record, I do miss you, buddy. If I could take some magical cure, become human and live like a normal guy with you and your mother and your sister, I wouldn't hesitate. _

_~Your dad, Damon. _

* * *

Rose sat in her bedroom, reading her letter from her parents.

_Rose, _

_I can only imagine how beautiful you are as your becoming the woman you're meant to be. I told Stefan not to tell me anything about you guys beyond that you were safe. I'm sorry about Anne. If anyone understands losing family that close, it's me. _

_I love you, baby girl. _

_~Your mother, Elena _

_Rose, _

_I don't know how much my baby brother told you about me. I mean, he's not one to brag. But, in case you don't know, I am not a very emotional, touchy-feely person. I'm sarcastic, I'm mean, I'm sarcastic, I'm probably the closest thing to the boogey man you can get. That's why I left. _

_However, that does not mean that your mean, scary dad doesn't miss you every day of the week. _

_~Your dad, Damon. _

* * *

**A/N The letters from Damon and Elena to Rose and Grayson were tricky to write. It's hard to picture Damon as a dad, isn't it? Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. Please review as always. **


	10. Run, Run, Run

**A/N Hope you guys like this chapter. Please review. **

* * *

_Rose raced through the school hallways, slipping on the slick floor as she went. She ran outside into the dark night. Someone grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. She stared into the eyes of Marshall Mikaelson, her murderer. _

Rose woke up with a jerk, breathing harder than usual.

"You okay?" She turned in surprise towards Elijah, who was lying on bed beside her, as he spoke.

"When did you get here?"

"A couple minutes ago. I didn't want to wake you." He explained. She looked around the room.

"Where's Lexi?"

"Fell asleep on the couch with Caroline."

"And Stefan just let you in?"

"No, he doesn't know I'm here."

"Ah… Sneaky."

"Having a bad dream?" He asked.

"Yeah. Your brother freaks me out."

"Rose, I grew up with him. I know." Elijah told her. Just then, the door opened. Caroline stepped halfway inside, her mouth open to speak. She stopped when she saw Elijah. She half smiled.

"Did I walk into a secret relationship? Who knows?" Caroline asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"It's not a secret, Aunt Caroline." Rose protested in a mumble, sitting up and scooting away from Elijah, embarrassed to be caught by her Aunt Caroline of all people. Caroline laughed at her.

"Oh, honey, you wouldn't look like it if it wasn't somewhat of a secret. You look… familiar. Have I met you before?" Caroline asked, directing the last part at Elijah. Elijah strode over to her.

"Elijah Mikaelson, the second. If you're the same Caroline I think you are, then you know my father, Klaus Mikaelson." Caroline's facial expression went from amused to shocked in less than a second.

"You… you're… he has a…what?!" Caroline demanded.

"He's actually the youngest sibling; he has an older sister and an older brother." Rose said, getting out of bed.

"What?!" Caroline repeated, not tearing her eyes away from Elijah.

"Why are you so interested in Klaus's kids?" Rose asked. Caroline finally looked over at her, blushing deeply.

"No reason."

"She used to date my father." Elijah explained shortly and as calmly as if he was informing Rose of what clothes he wore yesterday.

"What?!" It was Rose's turn to be completely shocked.

"I did not _date_ Klaus!" Caroline shot back at Elijah.

"Really? Because the way he talks about it-."

"Okay! We're done with this conversation!" Caroline hurried out of the bedroom, going downstairs as fast she could. Roses looked at Elijah with one eye brow raised in questioning on what had just happened.

"Well that was interesting."

* * *

At school that day, Victoria, Lexi and Rose gathered by Rose's locker.

"So Abby's a little freaked out by the whole thing, but I think that she and Grayson are helping each other adjust to knowing about all of this." Victoria was saying. Rose nodded in agreement. They both looked at Lexi, who wasn't listening at all. They followed her eyes. She was staring at Jamie, who was just getting his books out of his own locker. Victoria and Rose looked at each other again. Victoria mouthed 'I got this' at Rose. Rose gave her a confused look, but Victoria ignored it. She grabbed Lexi's arm and hauled her over to Jamie.

"Jamie! Hey, talk to her!" She shoved Lexi closer and then scampered back over to Rose to watch them.

"Uh… hi!" Lexi greeted him. She looked over her shoulder and shot Victoria a death look. Victoria smiled at her cheerfully.

"Hi…" Jamie gave her a suspicious look, obviously wondering what all of this was about. Lexi cleared her throat.

"I was just wondering if… uh… you…and… um…so…" Lexi sputtered.

"I know you have a crush on me and you're trying to ask me out."

"Oh." Lexi didn't know what else to say.

"And yes. I'll pick you up Saturday night." The bell rang. He smiled at her and walked off. Victoria and Rose both gave an excited little shriek and ran over to her. They did a little group hug before they had to run off to class.

* * *

Susannah paced in front of Madeline, who was looking through a grimoire.

"How long until it's done?" Susannah asked.

"A while. You know, not many people would agree to make you immortal on a whim. You should be thanking me."

"Thank you. I've made too many enemies not to be immortal. Seriously, though, give me an estimated time here, Maddy."

"I don't know, Suzie! But I do know that I need doppelganger blood. It's a big spell and I need something powerful to channel in order to do it."

"Fine! Take my blood." Susannah held out her wrist, pulling up the sleeve of her dress. Madeline shook her head.

"Human doppelganger blood."

"You mean…?"

"You need to actually succeed in capturing your human doppelganger. Rose Salvatore is the key to this spell."

* * *

Rose was by her locker, gathering the things she needed to take home. The final bell had already rung and few people were still in the school. The dream she had last night flashed through her head. Someone put a hand on her shoulder. She gasped and spun around. Elijah gave her an odd look.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Oh no." Elijah gave her a very worried look.

"What?" Rose asked, alarmed at his expression.

"Fine is a dangerous word in the female language! That means everything is not fine." Rose laughed.

"And you're fluent in the female language?" She asked, shutting her locker door. He shrugged.

"Meddling, trouble-making, bossy older sister… tough as nails, takes-no-crap-from-anyone mother…. Indescribable blonde-bombshell aunt… I have a working knowledge of many dialects of the female language, yes." He agreed. She laughed again.

"Let's get you home." Elijah added. He slung an arm around her shoulder as they headed for the door. Suddenly Elijah stopped and froze, tensing.

"What is it?" Rose whispered, instinctively moving closer to him and glancing around worriedly.

"Someone else is here…" Suddenly he crumpled to the ground, holding his head and screaming. Rose dropped to the floor next to him.

"Elijah?!" Susannah and Madeline stepped around the corner and into view.

"You!" Rose growled.

"Me!" Susannah agreed in a sing-song voice.

"Less talking, more doppelganger-snatching! He's stronger than I thought. I can't keep him down for long!" Madeline hissed.

"Oh, alright." Susannah darted forward and grabbed Rose, hauling her to her feet and away from Elijah. Rose screamed his name as she was dragged out of the school. Madeline gave them a head start and then stopped the spell, allowing Elijah to groan and sit up.

"You little-." He darted forward but she held out her hand and flicked it. He flew against the wall and went to the floor, unconscious.

"Text me when you think of how to finish that." She told him with a smirk. Then she went after Susannah and Rose.

* * *

Stefan, Caroline, Lexi, Victoria, Elijah and Marshall were gathered in the kitchen of Rose's house.

"One witch?! One witch and you couldn't take her?!" Stefan demanded.

"Well, I'm sorry that I was being tortured by a powerful witch so I couldn't also take on an old vampire. But I didn't exactly see any heroic history teacher fighting for Rose there either!" Elijah shot back.

"You think this is my fault?! I was sent here to protect my niece and the only thing that I regret is trusting you enough to let you go anywhere near her!"

"Elijah and I have kept her alive when you were off avoiding this town! How about a little gratitude for that, Hero-Hair?" Marshall butted into the argument.

"None of the Mikaelson's get my gratitude for anything!"

"HEY!" Caroline's shrill yell made them fall quiet and look over at her.

"This isn't helping anyone!" Lexi added from her mother's side, shooting death looks at all three of them.

"So what's the plan?" Everyone turned towards Grayson and Abby as they walked into the kitchen. Abby was a little behind Grayson, eying everyone in the room a little wearily.

"I know what the plan isn't: involving you two!" Victoria told them. Grayson folded his arms across his chest.

"I invited _him_-." He motioned towards Marshall. "-into the house and-." He started.

"Oooh! That makes you such a tough guy! What would we do without you?" Marshall asked sarcastically.

"Rose is my sister! She's like the only family I have left! I need to help!" Grayson insisted, wisely ignoring Marshall.

"No, Victoria's right, Grayson; you aren't getting involved." Caroline tried to tell him softly, as not to upset him.

"I'm already involved!" He protested.

"We need to help! This is Rose we're talking about." Abby added, speaking for the first time since she came into the room.

"Oh, it's Rose? I hadn't noticed at all." Marshall and his sarcasm were really on a roll today.

"No! You guys are not getting involved in anything!" Victoria told them sharply.

"We're wasting time!" Stefan reminded them.

"We need to figure out where they're at before we can do anything. I doubt they'd go back to where we found them last time. Give me a couple minutes and I can do a locator spell." Victoria said, ignoring Abby and Grayson.

"Fine. Work fast." Stefan told her. She nodded.

"You two are with me. You want to help? You can help me." Abby and Grayson nodded and hurried followed Victoria upstairs. Victoria stopped in Rose's bedroom.

"Grayson, get me something that's important to Rose. Abby, get some candles and a map of the town." She ordered.

"Need a crystal ball?" Abby asked, not being sarcastic, but actually curious.

"No. Candles and map." Victoria told her again. She hurried off. Grayson slapped something into Victoria's palm. She looked at it. It was a simple chain necklace with a silver 'R' hanging from it.

"Last birthday gift she got from Anne." Grayson explained, seeing Victoria's confused look. She nodded.

"Okay then." She put it on the floor as Abby came back in, her arms full of different sized candles and a map tucked under her arm. Victoria took the map, quickly unfolding it.

"Put them around me." Victoria told her. She and Grayson hurriedly arranged them in a circle around Victoria.

"Do you want us to get a lighter or-." Abby started to ask. Victoria closed her eyes and flames jerked up in the candles. Grayson and Abby stepped back.

"Never mind." Abby muttered. Victoria kept the necklace in her hand and she chanted something in Latin. Finally, she opened her eyes.

"Grayson, over here. Abby, get me something sharp." Abby wasn't so keen on doing as she was told without knowing why, but she hurried off again anyway. She returned a second later with a knife. Victoria took the knife and Grayson's hand.

"It's easier if I have the blood of a close relative." She explained shortly. She cut into Grayson's palm and let his blood drip onto the map. Abby looked away with a grimace. She was no fan of blood.

"Okay, that's good." Victoria let Grayson's hand go and he stepped back to stand next to Abby. Victoria started chanting again. The blood on the map joined together in one spot and then moved across the map. It stopped at one particular spot. Victoria opened her eyes.

"I know where Rose is."

* * *

Rose woke up tied to a chair. Was it bad that this was so familiar she didn't even panic? She was pissed at Susannah, but not panicked. That was probably a bad sign in regard to her sanity, or what was left of it. Then she noticed something else. She looked down at the needle in her arm. She followed the tube connected to it to the bag of blood slowly filling up on the floor. She struggled to get free, panic _now_ starting.

"Moving makes your heart beat faster which makes it pump more blood which means you'll bleed out faster." Susannah informed her as she walked into the room with a smirk on her face.

"What are you doing?!" Rose demanded, ignoring Susannah's warning and continuing to struggle.

"Oh, I'm draining you of blood. No doubt you know that Doppelganger blood is powerful? Of course you know. So my witch friend gets powerful blood for spells and you die, leaving me as the last Petrova doppelganger! Well, almost. I guess you're mother is still alive, huh? Hey!" Susannah protested at the end of her monologue when Rose kicked her hard in the kneecap.

"Bad girl! No, no, no!" Susannah scolded Rose like a puppy. She slapped Rose on the wrist for good measure. Madeline poked her head into her room.

"Suzie! Leave the doppelganger alone!" Okay, now Rose really felt like an animal. Susannah rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. How long until she's dead?" Susannah asked as casually as asking what someone's favorite color was.

"I don't know and, honestly, Suzie, I really don't care. Her death is your goal, not mine." With that said, Madeline exited the room again. Susannah glanced at Rose and then followed.

* * *

Stefan, Caroline, Elijah and Marshall headed for the front door.

"But we're coming too!" Lexi protested as she and Victoria hurried to follow them.

"No, you aren't." Stefan said firmly.

"But we're not kids! We can take care of ourselves and we want to save Rose as much as you guys. More. We've known her longer!" Lexi insisted.

"Please." Victoria added in a whisper, desperate to come and make sure her best friend was safe.

"Come but stay close to us. Once we get Rose, the three of you get out no matter what!" Caroline told them sternly. They both nodded. They headed out of the house.

* * *

Rose was feeling weaker. She struggled to stay conscious. Susannah slunk back into the room.

"You're looking pale." She noted with a smirk. Rose didn't have the strength to say anything back.

"What? No sarcastic comeback? Man, you are done for." Susannah teased with a little laugh.

"You forget one thing." Susannah spun around. Stefan stood in the doorway.

"She has back-up." Faster than Rose could see, Stefan and Marshall were wrestling Susannah to the ground. Caroline and Lexi ran over to Rose, untying her.

"Where's…?" Rose tried to ask where Elijah and Victoria were.

"Taking down her little witch friend. He's a vengeful hybrid, that's for sure. Victoria's his back-up. Come on!" Lexi explained shortly. She and Caroline pulled her up to her feet. Caroline let Rose lean heavily on her. Susannah broke free from Marshall and slammed into Caroline. She snatched Rose and pulled her towards the door, putting her in a chokehold and cutting off her airway.

"Care to make a move?" She asked. Susannah threw the now unconscious Rose towards the group and darted off. Lexi caught her, lowering her gently to the floor. Stefan and Caroline darted after Susannah. Marshall ran over to Rose.

"She needs vampire blood!" Lexi told him. He bit into his wrist and put it on Rose's mouth.

"Why are you helping us?" Lexi asked.

"I wouldn't ask so many questions considering I'm saving your cousin's life!" Marshall snapped at her. Victoria and Elijah ran into the room and over to them.

"Is the witch…?" Lexi trailed off.

"Unless she has a magical cure for a broken neck, she's dead." Elijah assured her. Rose gasped as she woke up. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Caroline and Stefan came back into the room. Elijah and Marshall looked over at him.

"She's long gone. She's like Katherine two-point-o." Caroline told them.

"Let's just get Rose back home." Stefan added. Rose nodded weakly in agreement and let him pick her up, carrying her like a child as they headed back home.

* * *

Susannah returned to the house and ran over to Madeline's body.

"Maddy! MADDY!" Susannah cried. Madeline gasped to life. Susannah gasped in surprise too.

"I'm not immortal for nothing, Susannah. A broken neck won't kill me!" Madeline explained. Susannah sighed in relief.

"Do you have the doppelganger blood?" Madeline asked after a minute.

"Yeah."

"Good. Time to make you immortal."

* * *

**A/N Yeah, Susannah and Madeline take a licking and keep on kicking (as Damon said about Katherine). Now you know what makes them such powerful enemies. As said above, please review and tell me what you think!**


	11. Every Rose Has Its Thorns

**A/N I haven't updated in two months. Now I feel guilty. But hopefully this episode kind of makes up for it. I will honestly try this time to not take so long to update. As always, please read and review. **

* * *

Rose entered the Grill, looking tired. She went to slide into the booth Will was sitting at.

"Hey, sorry, I'm late. I'm not sleeping well and when I do sleep, I over sleep… And I'm blabbering." She said, nodding to herself. Will gave her his signature crooked grin.

"It's fine. I just wanted to get something out in the open." She gave him a weird look. He went on.

"I like you. Okay? Not just like a friendly like…. What I'm trying to say is… I want to go out on a date with you." Will sputtered. Rose just stared at him for a minute, not speaking.

"And this is not how I planned it go." He admitted. She finally spoke, looking down at her hands instead of at him.

"I'm dating Elijah Mikaelson…" It was his turn to just stare at her.

"Oh." He finally said.

"I'm sorry. I was going to tell you but then there was the drama with Anne and my uncle and…" She trailed off as he got to his feet.

"Was I not obvious enough that I liked you?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"I'm sorry, Will, but-… Will!" Will walked past her and out of the Grill.

"Problems?" A voice in her ear asked. She whirled around to face a smirking Marshall.

"None that need your two cents put in, Marshall." She started to walk away, but she saw two familiar faces walk in.

"Marshall…" She backed up to stand beside him again and they both looked at Madeline and Susannah in shock.

"Turn around." Marshall took her by the shoulders and turned them both so their backs were to the witch and the doppelganger, pushing Rose into the booth.

"What do we do now?" Rose whispered.

"Figure out two things. A, why are they here? And B, how the heck did that red haired witch survive a snapped neck?" He whispered back, risking a glance over Rose's head towards the girls.

"Let's just get out of here." Rose hissed. Marshal hesitated. He was obviously weighing his odds of fighting the two of them in a crowded restaurant.

"Marshall!" Rose hissed again, warning him. He slid out of the booth, taking her hand and leading her from the Grill. Once they were outside, Rose yanked her hand from Marshall's, uncomfortable with him holding it.

"We need to go tell the others that they're back." She said. Marshall looked back at the Grill. She stepped in between him and the front doors.

"No! You are not doing anything. There are humans in there!" She reminded him.

"I'm just going to talk to them." He said, giving her a smirk rather than a reassuring smile. She gave him a warning look.

"Gosh, you are so untrusting, you know that? Step aside, pheasant." He side-stepped around her and went back into the Grill. She hesitated but then ran for her car to get home.

* * *

"Girls." Marshall greeted Madeline and Susannah as he slid into a seat at the bar next to them. They looked at each other and then at him.

"And what do you want?" Susannah asked. Madeline stayed silent beside her, tracing symbols into a pile of salt she'd poured out of the shaker, smoothing it out and starting over.

"A man can't just go to the local bar in this town?" He asked innocently.

"Your brother tried to kill my best friend. And you tried to kill me." Susannah reminded him.

"Oh, let bygones be bygones. I'll buy you girls a round." He offered flirtingly. They looked at each other again and then back at him before Madeline finally spoke.

"Well, in that case, bygones it is."

* * *

Rose rushed into the house, running smack into Stefan, who'd heard her thundering her way up the porch. Rose stumbled back from the impact and Stefan caught her by the arms.

"What's going on?" He asked. Caroline hurried downstairs, a concerned look on her face.

"Madeline's somehow still alive and she and Susannah are in the Grill. And I think Marshall's going to do something stupid about it." She explained all in one breath.

"Wait, at the Grill?" Caroline asked, joining them by the door. Rose nodded, out of breath. Caroline grabbed Stefan's arm.

"Lexi just went to go there with Jamie."

* * *

Madeline nudged Susannah with her elbow and motioned slyly with her head at another table. Susannah glanced over her shoulder as Marshall ordered another round of shots. Lexi and Jamie sat at a booth, talking and laughing. A smile tugged at the corners of Susannah's lips. She leaned over to whisper to Madeline.

"Keep this idiot busy, Maddy." Madeline gave a tiny nod. Susannah got up and headed for their booth. When Marshall turned to see where she was going, Madeline flicked her hand. Instantly, Marshall leaned heavily on the bar counter, pain in his head blinding him and keeping him where he was. Madeline smiled and took another shot, content to let him suffer. Susannah reached Lexi and Jamie's booth and gave them a bright smile.

"Hey, what's up, Lexi? Jamie, buddy, do you mind if I borrow my cousin for a sec?" She asked innocently. Lexi knew this wasn't Rose. Her hands shook as she set down her coffee cup.

"I'll be right back." She promised Jamie, getting out of her booth. Susannah flashed Jamie another bright smile over her shoulder as they walked away.

"Whatever you want to do, leave Jamie out of it." Lexi pleaded in a whisper. Susannah wrapped her arm around Lexi's shoulders. Lexi flinched.

"Oh, come on now, sweetheart. He's of no interest to me. I just want to have a little girl time." As they walked past the bar, Susannah nodded to Madeline. Madeline got up and followed her out of the Grill. As soon as Madeline left the Grill, Marshall was back to normal. He jumped up and ran out of the Grill. By the time he was on the sidewalk, all three girls were gone. Caroline, Stefan, Elijah, Victoria and Rose ran up to him.

"Where's Lexi?" Stefan demanded.

"Are Madeline and Susannah still here?" Elijah asked, looking towards the Grill. Marshall shook his head.

"No, they're gone. All three of them."

* * *

Lexi's bloodcurdling scream echoed through Madeline and Susannah's house. Madeline held out her hand, magically putting Lexi through the worst pain she could imagine. Finally, she lowered her hand and Lexi struggled to catch her breath again. Madeline turned to Susannah, an annoyed look on her face.

"Why am I doing this again?" She asked.

"Because I am going to hunt down every last one of these vampire's children, vampires and hybrids that tried to kill the two of us. It's called 'revenge'. Feel free to Google it, Maddy." Susannah replied.

"And here I thought you wanted a family." Madeline sighed.

"Now I want revenge. Maybe I'll adopt a baby, become a mother…" Susannah said thoughtfully.

"I have seen some scary things in my life, but that thought alone has to top the list…" Madeline muttered, earning herself a dirty look from Susannah. Then she put out her hand and Lexi started screaming in pain again.

* * *

"There's no way they are holding up in that same house we've busted them in so many times." Victoria said, shaking her head. Victoria, Caroline, Stefan, Elijah, Marshall and Rose were gathered in Rose's kitchen.

"We've got to do something!" Caroline cried, running her hand through her hair. Her eyes were red from when she'd been crying. She had just now returned to her daughter; she wasn't going to lose Lexi again.

"Can't you do a locater spell?" Stefan asked Victoria, trying to keep calm himself, but starting to falter. Victoria sighed.

"I can, but it'll take time and it won't be as exact as when I did it to find Rose." She explained.

"Do it."

"Fine. I'm taking your brother to help." Victoria said to Rose as she left the room. They heard her talk to Grayson and then go upstairs. Stefan headed for the front door.

"Let's just check their house out. Victoria can call us when she's through with the locator spell."

* * *

Lexi gasped for breath, relieved that Madeline had given her another break from the burning pain. Susannah kneeled down on the floor beside her. Lexi shot her the best death look she could muster.

"Poor baby… Do you want me to stop?" Lexi gritted her teeth, but said nothing. Susannah stood up and kicked her in the stomach. The force sent Lexi flying into the wall a couple feet behind her and she let out a cry of pain.

* * *

"I can hear them inside." Stefan growled. Caroline darted forward towards the house, but both Marshall and Elijah grabbed her and restrained her. Stefan took her arm and pulled her away from them, shooting looks at both of them for touching her. He looked at Caroline.

"Wait, okay?" He opened the trunk to reveal the arsenal inside. Rose let out a low whistle. She grabbed a stake and tucked into her sleeve.

"I have an idea."

* * *

Lexi was sobbing in pain. Blood seeped out of cuts on her face and hands from Susannah's last kick, which sent her into a glass picture frame hanging on the wall. Bruises were forming on her stomach already from the kicks. Susannah and Madeline both turned towards the doorway to the room. Lexi looked up weakly, but hopeful. Suddenly Susannah was behind her, hauling her to her feet in a chokehold. She nodded to Madeline, who quickly escaped out the window. Stefan, Caroline, Elijah and Marshall came into the room. Susannah tightened her hold on Lexi.

"If you move, I'll snap her neck." She threatened. No one moved. She smirked and looked straight at Caroline.

"Or maybe, if you prefer, I can turn her into one of you." She bit into her wrist and forced her blood into Lexi's mouth.

"Don't!" Rose came into view.

"There's the girl of the hour!" Rose held up her hands to show she was unarmed and stepped towards Susannah.

"You want revenge on me. Not her. Let her go, you can have me." Rose told her.

"Rose, don't!" Elijah warned. She ignored him. Susannah motioned for Rose to come forward. Rose stepped up to her. Susannah shoved Lexi into Caroline's arms and snatched Rose, holding her by the throat against the wall.

"You really are an idiot, you know that?" Susannah asked with a laugh. Rose gave her a smirk that would make Damon Salvatore jealous.

"And you're an even bigger one." She stabbed Susannah with the stake hidden up her sleeve, making sure to hit her straight in the heart. Susannah didn't even flinch.

"Immortality. Do you know the meaning of the word?" She threw Rose across the room so that she hit the wall with enough force to knock her out cold before pulling out the stake and tossing it aside. Elijah and Marshall slammed her into the wall behind her. Elijah held her against the wall as Marshall shoved his hand into her chest, reaching for her heart. She shoved Elijah away with one hand and then grabbed Marshall's wrist.

"Not so fast!" She growled. She kicked him across the room. She caught Stefan by the wrists as he darted over to her. She tightened her grip so there was the sickening crack of bone. Caroline abandoned her post beside the unconscious rose and Lexi and darted over to her. She wrapped her arm around Susannah's throat. Susannah let go of Stefan, kicked him to the ground and spun around to deck Caroline. As Caroline fell to the floor, Susannah caught her by the arm and threw her into Stefan as he started to get up. Elijah and Marshall were up again and grabbed her again. Lexi crawled over to the stake on the floor.

"Elijah!" She cried. He turned and caught the stake as she threw it to him.

"I'd worry more about that witch friend of yours." She told him, laughing like a psychopath. He stabbed Susannah in the chest again to distract her enough for Marshall to snap her neck. Caroline and Stefan got to their feet and stared at her body on the floor.

"What did she mean by that?" Caroline hesitantly asked. Stefan looked towards the open window.

"Victoria."

* * *

Victoria crumpled up and threw down the map in frustration.

"Madeline's blocking me." She told Grayson, getting up from the floor and pacing. Grayson scrambled to his feet.

"But… But they probably found her by now, right?" She gave him a forced smile that she hoped as reassuring.

"I'm sure they did." The front door opened and shut downstairs. Grayson started towards the bedroom door but Victoria caught him and stopped him.

"It's not them." She whispered. A bad feeling washed over her, a warning sign. As if on queue, Madeline came into view.

"Having trouble?" Madeline asked. Victoria looked over at Grayson.

"Go." She told him. He didn't move. Madeline smiled at him.

"Sorry, honey, but its girl time now."

"Grayson, go." Victoria hissed through clenched. Grayson edged out the door past Madeline. Madeline closed the door behind her and turned to Victoria.

"Shall we get started?"

* * *

Grayson ripped open the suitcase from the hall closet and dug through the weapons as the lights flickered and the house shook dangerously.

* * *

Victoria ducked as lamp flew magically towards her. It slammed into the wall behind and broke. She turned back to Madeline and concentrated on her. Madeline started screaming, dropping to her knees. Blood dripped out of Victoria's nose and the spell weakened. Madeline gave a weak laugh as she pushed herself to her feet again.

"I'm impressed… I didn't expect so much power from a newbie witch." Victoria held out her hand and Madeline flew back against the door, which rattled on its hinges from the force of the impact. More blood came out of Victoria's nose. She held out her hand again but nothing happened. Madeline smiled at this.

"Sorry. I think you're done for this fight." Madeline flicked her hand and Victoria slammed into the wall. Victoria gathered her strength mentally as Madeline laughed at her. Then she pushed herself to her feet and concentrated on Madeline again. Madeline screamed again. The lights flickered even more rapidly.

"You forgot the fact that I'm a Bennett witch. We don't give up easily." Fear flashed across Madeline's face, replacing the look of pain. Suddenly Victoria collapsed, blood rushing out of her nose as she hit the floor, already unconscious. Madeline got to her feet again. Suddenly the door was kicked open. Grayson shot the crossbow and the arrow sunk into her chest. She fell to the floor, temporarily dead. Grayson ran over to Victoria, dropping the crossbow onto the floor with a thump.

"Please be okay… please be okay…" He pleaded. Stefan, Elijah and Marshall rushed into the room. They paused and took in the scene before Stefan went over to Victoria. She was slowly waking up again. Marshall looked between the two witches and Grayson.

"Well, this is a surprise."

* * *

Later that night, Victoria sat up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a steaming cup of coffee sitting on the table in front of her. Lexi came over and flopped down next to her tiredly.

"I want some of that blanket too." Victoria laughed a little and they adjusted the blanket to cover both of them.

"Are you okay?" Victoria asked, leaning back on the cushions. Lexi frowned.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it wasn't her intention, but the vampire blood healed me. Dad said that it'll be out of my system in a couple days though, so I won't be turning into a vampire." She explained.

"What are Marshall and Elijah doing with the banes of our existence?"

"Locking them up." Rose answered for Lexi as she came and sat down on the couch too.

"They will be in the basement of Elijah and Marshall's house until we can figure out what to do with them. I mean, they are _immortal_. It's not like we can kill them." Rose mumbled, getting under the blanket as well.

"I think I might have learned something about that." Victoria told them. They both looked at her.

"When I mentioned I was a Bennett witch, she looked terrified. No one can truly be immortal. There's always something that can kill them. Maybe a Bennett Witch can kill her. She thought I was just a newbie witch and that's why she came to take me on, maybe to take me out of the picture before I got too powerful." Victoria explained.

"She looked scarred?" Rose asked doubtfully. Victoria nodded.

"Yeah. And that was before your brother burst in like… Pocahontas." Lexi laughed while Victoria blushed in embarrassment.

"Did you just call my brother 'Pocahontas'?" Rose demanded, trying not to laugh herself.

"That was the first person I thought of!" She defended herself. The three girls laughed and hugged each other.

* * *

Stefan sat in the master bedroom, listening to the girls in the living room below. Caroline came into the room and pointed over her shoulder with her phone.

"Grayson is officially out like a light and Marshall just assured me that the witch and the doppelganger are locked up tight in their cellar. All my ducks are in a row." She announced.

"Except for where Madeline knows where we live, Susannah has been invited in and we might not have any way to kill them." Stefan reminded her. Her smile faded.

"Fine. Ruin my moment." She mumbled. She sat down on the bed next to him.

"We should move into the old Salvatore Boarding house. No one's invited in, the house is in Rose's name, we made sure of that when she was born…" He said. Caroline nodded in agreement.

"We can move there in the morning. With vampires it won't take long to pack up and get over there." She agreed.

"Should we call in Damon and Elena and Bonnie and the others?" She asked after a minute.

"Maybe." He admitted.

"But for now I want to keep my eye on Lexi. We don't need her turning into a vampire. Rose, Victoria and Grayson should be okay with those crazy chicks locked up, but I'll keep them close too." She told him. He nodded.

"Stefan?"

"Hmm?" He looked up at her again.

"Maybe we should leave MysticFalls all together. Take the kids with us. We've spent the last almost two decades perfectly fine because we weren't in MysticFalls. Let's take them to Denver so that we can all be together." Caroline suggested.

"I think we both know they wouldn't go for that. They have too many friends here. And Rose is just as stubborn as Damon with the bravery of Elena."

"But we have to take them." She said determinedly.

"Of course."

"Stefan?"

"Yes?"

"We never should have given them up in the first place…"

* * *

Marshall walked out of the cellar.

"They are locked up tight. I called Blondie and let her know." He told Elijah, who nodded in response.

"HEY! WHAT IS THIS?!" Susannah screamed from downstairs. Marshall smirked.

"Welcome to Hotel Pain. Can I get you a glass of Vervain?" He called back. He turned to Elijah again.

"Finding out how to kill them is gonna be fun…"


	12. Magic Tricks

**A/N I did promise I would update sooner, didn't I? Well, here's the next update. Before we get started, however, I would like to say a few things. **

**The first thing is that this is the pre-season-finale. This episode and one more and that wraps up the first season. The next season will be longer and, yes, I am doing a season two. I've finally gotten back into writing this and now I have more ideas than I can count for the next season. **

**The second thing is something I should have put in a much earlier chapter and it's just that I picture Madeline being played by Rachel Hurd-Wood. **

**And that's it! On with the show! **

* * *

"I can do this!" Victoria insisted.

"I'm not doubting you, Victoria, but I have killed people and you don't just get over that!" Stefan shot back. They stood in the kitchen the morning after the capture of Madeline and Susannah. Victoria slammed her mother's grimoire down on the counter with a thump.

"Susannah has kidnapped my best friends twice _each_. She has taken my sister and threatened to kill her on Abby's birthday! She has done nothing that doesn't piss me off! And don't get me started on how Madeline has saved that worthless doppelganger as many times as we've taken her down and last night she tried to kill me and I have no doubt she'd have gone after Grayson too! I'm ready!" Caroline came into the room as Victoria ended her monologue.

"I thought you said you that you would need more power." Caroline said cautiously, not wanting to have Victoria's wraith turned on her. Victoria patted the grimoire.

"Channeling. Witches can gain more power temporarily by channeling something powerful. Most of the time it's other witches, places where there was a violent death or even objects used by other witches." She explained.

"So what are you going to channel?" Caroline asked. Victoria walked over to her.

"Can I borrow that?" She asked, motioning to Caroline's wedding wing. Although confused and hesitant, Caroline slipped the diamond ring off her finger. Victoria took it and turned to Stefan.

"And yours." Stefan handed over his wedding band. Victoria held them in her hands and started chanting a spell. The lights flickered and the water in the sink was suddenly fire. Victoria stopped and everything went back to normal. She looked between Caroline and Stefan.

"Did you feel that?" She asked, handing them their rings back. Caroline shuddered.

"That fuzzy feeling? But not the warm and fuzzy kind but the kind where you foot falls asleep…. That feeling?" She asked, slipping the ring back on her finger.

"Exactly. That was me channeling you. If I can channel the two of you, Elijah and Marshall, I might have enough power to kill Madeline and Susannah."

"And if you don't?" Stefan asked.

"If I don't, I'll know." She said simply. Rose stumbled tiredly into the kitchen and everyone looked at her.

"Did I just interrupt some secret meeting?" She asked, looking between the three of them.

"No." They said in unison. Rose raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything about it.

"How are you feeling?" Stefan asked her. She rubbed her head.

"I have the headache to end all headaches, but other than that, I'm walking on sunshine." Caroline looked at Stefan and he nodded once. Caroline went over and took Rose's arm, leading her into the living room instead.

"I did interrupt a secret meeting, didn't I?" Rose asked, looking over her shoulder towards the kitchen.

"It's not about that. Stefan and I decided something last night. We figured it would be best if we moved to the old Salvatore boarding house."

"Okay." Rose said, nodding in agreement.

"So we should pack everything up and move into the Boarding House as soon as possible."

"I'll tell Grayson." Rose said. Caroline nodded.

"Okay, thanks." Caroline saw Lexi over Rose's shoulder and went to talk to her. Rose turned and headed upstairs.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Caroline asked her daughter. Lexi shrugged it off.

"I'm a little sore, but okay, I guess."

"Well, the vampire blood will be out of your system by tomorrow morning." She assured her. Lexi nodded.

"Good."

* * *

Rose knocked on Grayson's bedroom door and then pushed it open. Grayson was sitting in front of his computer, playing some kind of game. She walked over and flicked him on the back of the head since he had his headphones on. He jumped and pulled his headphones down, turning in his chair to face her.

"Ow. What?"

"We're moving to the Salvatore boarding house." She announced, sitting on his desk. He frowned.

"What? It's a bigger house, Grayson." She reminded him. He didn't speak for a minute.

"Anne was here. Not there." Rose's smile faded. She leaned over to hug him and rest her chin on his shoulder.

"I know it's been hard the past couple weeks, but… It'll get better." She promised.

* * *

Victoria, Stefan and Caroline walked into the Mikaelson mansion. Caroline frowned at the sight.

"What's the matter? Remembering sucking faces with my dad here?" Marshall teased. Stefan looked like he wanted to grab him by the throat and throttle him, but he didn't. Victoria made mock gagging sounds behind Caroline, who wasn't sure whether to be mad or laugh. Victoria walked over to Marshall.

"Where's Elijah?"

"Downstairs with our guests of honor." Victoria headed down into the cellar. Elijah was sitting on the bottom step. Victoria sat down beside him.

"How are the little banes of our existence doing?" She asked dryly.

"Surprisingly quiet. It's suspicious."

"Agreed. I need something personal from you."

"Um… Victoria… I'm dating Rose and-."

"To channel you to do the spell to kill Madeline and Susannah." She told him, shooting him a look.

"Oh. Right. One second." He got up and left the cellar. Victoria got up and went over to the door across the short hallway. She looked through the bars at Susannah, who was chained up tightly. Susannah looked up and smirked weakly at her.

"I hate you."

"Well, you're being cheerful today." Victoria returned sarcastically. She looked down at the grimoire in her hand and smiled.

"Not that I would be if I was you, Susannah…"

* * *

Lexi shoved a couple articles of clothing into a suitcase and then looked up at Rose.

"I'm worried about Victoria. Do we know what happens if a witch exhausts her powers?" She asked, frowning.

"Victoria won't do anything to endanger herself." Rose tried to assure her. Lexi nodded.

"Can we go check on her?" She asked worriedly. Rose grabbed her jacket.

"Let's to the Mikaelson mansion."

* * *

"You shouldn't be here." Stefan told the girls as they walked into the Mikaelson mansion.

"We want to be here for Victoria." Rose insisted. Lexi folded her arms across her chest and nodded. Caroline came out of the cellar.

"We're about to start." She announced.

"Go ahead." Stefan told her. She shouted the message onto Victoria down in the cellar before walking over to Lexi and Rose.

"Why are you girls here?"

"We're worried about Victoria. What happens when a witch abuses her powers?" Lexi asked.

"They can die, but we won't let that happen to Victoria." Stefan assured her. Rose opened her mouth to speak but then a look of confusion and pain washed over her. She screamed, crumpling to the floor. Blood poured out of her nose.

"ROSE!" Caroline screamed in panic. Lexi, Caroline and Stefan all threw themselves to the floor next to her.

"Elena." Stefan whispered, bad memories resurfacing as the sight of Rose in so much pain.

"What's happening?!" Lexi cried as Rose screamed in pain again.

"Caroline, tell Victoria to stop!" Caroline darted down into the cellar, moving so fast she was a blur. A second later, Rose stopped screaming. She went limp, unconscious.

"Is she okay?" Caroline reappeared at the top of the stairs.

"I think so." Stefan replied. Victoria came to the top of the stairs too.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know that Madeline had linked herself to Rose."

"Linked herself to… What?" Lexi asked, looking around at everyone.

"When a witch links herself to someone, if one half of the link dies, the other one dies too. Any pain felt from one end is felt on the other." Victoria explained. She and Caroline went to kneel down beside Rose as well.

"So we can't kill Madeline without killing Rose?" Lexi asked, trying to wrap her head around it.

"So we make the witch bleed out. Give Rose some vampire blood to heal her up and bam! Problem solved." Everyone turned to look at Marshall as he and Elijah stood in the doorway of the cellar.

"Not problem solved! We're not doing that." Stefan snapped.

"If Madeline linked her, we can unlink her." Caroline added.

"Why don't I take her home while you figure that out?" Elijah suggested, looking at Rose worriedly. Stefan nodded. He picked Rose up and handed her off to Elijah.

"Lexi, go with them and take care of Rose for me." He told his daughter. She nodded and hurried to follow Elijah out the door.

"Why does she have to go with him?" Caroline asked, already knowing what he was thinking.

"Because she does not need to witness this." He darted downstairs into the cellar and over to Madeline. He grabbed her by the throat, pushing her up against the wall.

"Somebody's angry." Madeline chuckled. Stefan calmly let her go.

"You're right. I am. You linked yourself to my niece and now I can't hurt _you_. That doesn't go over well with me. So I think I'll torture your best friend in the next room for a while and we can talk about unlinking yourself from her later." Stefan turned to leave but Madeline stopped him with a simple question.

"What makes you think that I didn't link her to your darling niece too?"

* * *

Elijah sat on the foot of Rose's bed. She was lying down, still unconscious. Lexi was in Grayson's room, explaining the situation to him. Rose moaned as she woke up. Elijah turned around to look at her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, moving up to sit next to her. She nodded once and looked around.

"What happened?"

"Madeline linked the two of you. Whatever happens to her happens to you and vise versa." He explained.

"That sucks." She groaned. He chuckled.

"Yeah, I suppose it does." He agreed. She sat up and looked at him.

"Thanks for bringing me back here." He nodded.

"Of course."

"Where's Uncle Stefan?" She asked, looking around the room as if she thought Stefan was just standing completely silent in a corner somewhere.

"Still back at the mansion. He's… talking to Madeline."

"Why do I think that by talking you meaning threatening?"

"Because I do."

"Ah…" Elijah leaned over and kissed her. Instead of moving away, she moved closer to him to deepen the kiss. His hands were just going up her shirt when there was a loud, deliberate cough in the doorway. Both of them jumped and looked towards Stefan.

"I think _you_ are needed back at your house, wouldn't you agree?" Stefan asked Elijah coldly. Elijah nodded.

"Yeah… I'm gonna go." He got up and left, walking a little to fast for it to be casual. Rose looked at Stefan.

"Wow… Here I was thinking you were the cool uncle and then you turned into a disapproving dad on me." She told him. He chuckled lightly and then turned serious again.

"I'm going to take you in my car out of town." He told her.

"Just a little ways and we'll come back. Victoria just wants to see how far the link can go. If we can get you out of range, we can kill Madeline without killing you." He explained when she gave him a shocked look.

"Oh. Okay. As long as we're coming right back." She said, climbing out of bed. She started to fall and he darted forward, catching her.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Come on." He led her downstairs, keeping her close.

* * *

Madeline kicked at the wall dividing her cell from Susannah's.

"We're about to die." Madeline said dryly.

"Where's the faith?" Susannah asked back.

"You aren't the one they're going to kill first." Madeline reminded her. Susannah sighed.

"Maddy, I won't let them hurt you. I will do everything I can. We're going to get out of here. We'll kill that doppelganger for what she's done and we're leaving town."

"Promise?" Madeline asked, brightening up a bit at her best friend's words.

"Cross my heart, hope to kill."


	13. The Price of Greatness

**A/N Well, in my head this was an awesome episode, but stories always sound better in your head. I hope it's okay, though, and reviews are welcome as always. Oh, and for the record, this takes place in the same day as the last episode, just a couple minutes after the last one ended. **

* * *

As Stefan drove, Rose sat in the passenger seat with her feet braced against the dashboard, staring out the window.

"You okay?" Stefan finally asked her. She nodded once.

"Mmhmm…" She answered.

"Because you seem a little off." He pressed. She sighed and turned in her seat to face him.

"When I was getting tortured because of the link… You said 'Elena'… As in my mother. Why?" He didn't answer for a minute.

"Because I've seen your mother like that too… It's not fun." He admitted.

"Well it wasn't a walk in the park for me either." She returned. They both laughed, though it was a little forced. Rose sighed again.

"Tell me about her. About Elena Gilbert."

"I thought you didn't want to know." He said, glancing over at her.

"Well, now I do."

"She was strong and she never gave up on someone she loved. She was funny, but you definitely got your sarcasm from Damon. She lost a lot of people, she got hurt, but somehow she kept fighting for everything that deserved to be fought for and, sometimes, even when people couldn't see the good in themselves, she saw it for them."

"You loved her." She said, cocking her head at him.

"I did." He admitted.

"But now you're with Aunt Caroline and she's with your brother?"

"Things happened. She chose Damon over me. But I don't regret my choices. Caroline's the woman I love." Stefan's phone rang and he picked it up.

"Hey, Caroline."

"_Where are you?_" Caroline asked from the other end.

"Just drove past the MysticFalls sign."

"_Good. Victoria's going to try it again. If something happens to Rose, tell me and I'll stop her, okay_?" Caroline seemed nervous.

"I'm sure this will work, Caroline." Stefan assured her, pulling the car over to the side of the road.

"_I'm sure it will too. I'd just feel better if she was in France or something… Okay, Victoria's starting_." Stefan looked over at Rose, who tensed in anticipation. Nothing happened. Stefan raised the phone to his ear again.

"Is she doing it?"

"_Yeah. Nothing's happening to Rose?_"

"No."

"_Good-_." Caroline broke off with a scream. Stefan was immediately alert and tense.

"Caroline?!"

"_Madeline's being a pain in the-_." She was cut off by someone else talking.

"_Okay, you should come back. Channeling has a range too._" Caroline told him.

"Alright." Stefan hung up the phone and turned to Rose.

"Why don't you leave me here and go back, come back for me once she's kicked the bucket?" Rose suggested.

"Or I can drive you back and Lexi can take over. The Boarding House is just across WickeryBridge, out of town. The two of you can go there to get settled in while we handle this."

* * *

Lexi climbed into the front seat of the car as Stefan hurried into the Mikaelson mansion. The sun was setting now, marking the end of a long day. Lexi looked over at Rose.

"What's up?" She asked, driving out of the horse-show-shaped driveway.

"Nothing, just thinking." Lexi looked at her for a minute and then pulled out onto the street, driving in silence.

* * *

Stefan went down into the cellar. Victoria was standing in front of Madeline, who was weakly struggling to get free. Caroline, Marshall and Elijah left the room when Stefan gave them a meaningful look. Victoria glanced over her shoulder at Stefan.

"What?" She asked, annoyed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You've already asked that. I'm sure." She snapped. They stared at each other for a minute before Stefan looked away. Victoria glanced back at Madeline.

"We're going to give Lexi and Rose ten minutes to get out of town and then we'll get started."

* * *

The sun had completely slipped beyond the horizon by the time that Lexi and Rose were driving past the MysticFalls sign. Rose's phone beeped with a text and she looked down at the text from Caroline.

**_We're starting_. **

Lexi glanced over at the screen to see it and nodded to herself.

"Hopefully everything will go back to normal after this…" She murmured.

"Lexi, nothing is ever going back to normal." Rose told her. Lexi didn't like the sound of that.

"Wow, that's so cheerful and uplifting." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"Lexi, we're going to be living with two vampires, our parents are vampires, our best friend is a witch and I'm a doppelganger." Rose reminded him. Lexi thought about this for a minute and then she pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"You made me pull the car over. Now you get a lecture." Lexi shifted in her seat to face Rose, who rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Look, you might be right. Things may not go back to the way it was when school started, but it will get _better_."

"Nothing is going to get better! There will always be people trying to hurt us! And you know what happens when people try to hurt us? They hurt the people we love." Rose told her. Lexi just stared at her.

"Love is a two-way street, little cousin. Grayson and Abby know what they were getting into when they learned about the supernatural world. Victoria is a kick-butt witch now that can more than handle herself. My mom and dad knew they were going to be in danger when they came back for us. Stop pouting. It doesn't help anything." Rose looked at her and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Lexi leaned over and gave her a hug.

"Can we go now? I want to pick out my new room at the boarding house. I hear it's huge!"

"You're the one that pulled the car over."

"You made me." Lexi shot back with a smile, pulling back onto the road and driving forward again.

* * *

Caroline sat on the top step of the cellar as the lights flickered around her. Stefan came and sat down beside her.

"I can understand revenge but Victoria seems a little too vengeful." Caroline said with a sigh. Stefan reached over and rubbed her knee.

"After this, we'll have a bit of time to be a family before the next big bad guy comes. I'm not stupid enough to think there won't be one." Stefan told her. She laughed bitterly and moved close to him, hugging him around the shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her. Suddenly there was a scream of rage down in the cellar. Caroline and Stefan jumped up and ran down. Someone darted with vampire speed past them. In one of the rooms, Madeline's body lied on the floor. Marshall and Elijah were just picking themselves up from the floor. Victoria was unconscious, slouched against the wall.

"What happened?" Caroline asked, running over to Victoria.

"We underestimated Susannah." Marshall told her.

"More like she flirted with Marshall enough to get him to come into her cell, beat the crap out of him, got free and came to beat us up." Elijah corrected his brother, rubbing his head painfully.

"She's going after Rose." Stefan growled. Caroline and Stefan ran after Susannah. Elijah and Marshall exchanged glances.

"I'll take care of this. Go be the hero, baby brother." Marshall told him. Elijah darted off. Marshall looked around the room.

"Go to Mystic Falls, dad said. It'll be fine, dad said…"

* * *

Lexi was just driving over Wickery Bridge when Rose's phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket.

"It's Stefan." Lexi looked over at her.

"Why is he calling?"

"Lexi, watch out!" Rose cried, seeing the figure in front of the car. Lexi jerked the wheel to the side and the car ripped through the wood barriers on the bridge and plunged into the water below. Susannah looked over the side of the bridge as the car sank. She smirked.

"Oops."

* * *

Stefan hit the speed-dial on his phone to call Rose. Caroline looked around for Susannah in the forest. The sound of a car crashing off WickeryBridge reached their vampire ears. They whirled around towards the side and then were off running towards the bridge.

* * *

Elijah darted through the forest, coming to a stop as the sound of a car crash reached his ears. Susannah slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

"You dirt little-!" She growled, wrapping her hands around his throat. Suddenly she was off him. She scrambled to her feet, turned and ran. Elijah got to his feet and stared at the man in front of him.

"Who are you?" He asked suspiciously. The dark haired man turned to look at him.

"Better question, who was that? That was not Elena." He said, shaking his head.

"You know Elena Gilbert?" Elijah asked, growing even more suspicious.

"Of course I know Elena! I'm Damon Salvatore. Now want to tell me who the heck you are?"

* * *

Rose opened her eyes to find the car was filling with water. It was up to her chest already. She looked over at Lexi. She was unconscious, blood on her forehead from where she'd hit the steering wheel. Rose kicked at the windshield and window beside her. The water was up to her neck. With tears streaming down her face, she took a deep breath and held it. Suddenly, the door was yanked open. The remainder of the car filled with water. A man Rose didn't recognize ripped the seatbelt off Lexi. He reached over her to release Rose's seatbelt. He grabbed Lexi and swam out. Rose followed. When her face broke the surface of the water, she took gasping breaths. She struggled to stay above the surface. She was never the strongest swimmer and the panic and confusion racing through her didn't exactly help. A hand grabbed her arm and she turned towards the man that had saved her. His face showed more concern than she would have expected from a stranger. He helped her to shore, where he'd already laid Lexi down on the grass. Even from where Rose was, she could tell Lexi was breathing. She choked out a 'help her' as she crawled onto solid ground. The man raced over to Lexi and started CPR. Suddenly Caroline and Stefan darted up to them. Stefan ran to Lexi while Caroline stood there in shock for a second. Then she darted over to Rose. She striped off her denim jacket and put it around Rose's shoulders, hugging her tightly but not tearing her eyes off from Lexi. Even with both Stefan and the man trying to get her breathing again, it was useless. Caroline started sobbing. Stefan sat back on his heels. The man ran a hand through his wet hair.

"She has vampire blood in her system, though." Rose reminded them, trying to talk through chattering teeth. Stefan nodded once, not answering. Caroline wiped at her eyes. The last thing she wanted was for her only daughter to become a vampire, for her human life to end so soon.

"We should get her to the boarding house." The man said, standing up. For the first time, Rose really looked at him. He was in his twenties. Though that said nothing for his real age, Rose told herself, remembering that a girl born in 1850 still looked seventeen. He had the start of a beard and mustache, not like he was purposely growing one but like he had forgotten to shave the last few days. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes and stood taller than Stefan and more muscular. He looked oddly familiar, like Rose should know him. Caroline shakily got to her feet, pulling Rose up with her.

"Who are you?" Rose asked him, finally getting up the courage to ask. It seemed a little wrong. Her first words to this man beyond 'help her' should be a 'thank you for saving my life'. But Rose was cold, wet and crying. She wasn't in the mood for any politeness. Caroline answered for him, though she was crying too hard to be able to talk straight.

"That's… J-Jeremy Gil-Gilbert…" Rose could only stare at him as Stefan collected Lexi in his arms. Caroline abandoned her post next to Rose to go over to her daughter. Jeremy went over to Rose.

"Come on." He gently took her by the shoulders and they hurried after Stefan and Caroline.

* * *

At the boarding house, Stefan took Caroline and Lexi up to his old bedroom. Jeremy sat Rose down on the couch and wrapped a blanket around her to try and warm her up. Then he sat down on the floor by her feet and leaned his head against the couch cushions, closing his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Rose finally asked. He opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He told her, seemingly a little uneasy talking to her. She gave him a confused look for that.

"You look exactly like your mom, you know that?" He asked her. She nodded and shivered, pulling the blanket closer around her.

"Yeah, I know. As does everyone else trying to kill me." She said dryly. He opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, Caroline came back downstairs, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve. Jeremy got to his feet and she ran over to him, hugging him.

"Thank you. If you hadn't gotten there…" She shook her head; she didn't want to finish that sentence. She pulled away and looked at Rose.

"Lexi will be okay. I mean, Stefan and I can teach her how to be a vampire." Caroline told her, trying to reassure her but failing. The door opened and Victoria, Elijah and a dark haired man that Rose didn't recognize entered the house. Rose threw the blanket and denim jacket off her and ran to hug Victoria, who hugged her tightly back.

"I heard about Lexi." Victoria said into Rose's shoulder. Caroline and Jeremy had drifted over to the rest of them by the time that Rose and Victoria finally broke away from each other. Rose turned to Elijah, who gave her a reassuring hug and kiss to the head. Then she turned to the dark haired man with a confused expression.

"I doubt that 'Luke, I am your father' would work in this situation? If only you were a guy. Might try it on Grayson." The man said awkwardly, trying to crack a joke. Rose just stared for a minute before it clicked.

"You're Damon Salvatore?" She asked. He nodded and gave her a small, awkward smile before saying anything.

"Hey, kiddo."

* * *

Damon and Stefan stood in the hallway outside Stefan's bedroom. After meeting her father, Rose had smacked him on the arm, hard, and just left the room, crying. Victoria had run after her. Elijah had given Damon a dirty look before following. Caroline and Jeremy stood there, not sure what to say. Finally, Jeremy shot him a sarcastic comment, making Damon call him a punk, which made Caroline laugh for the first time that night. Jeremy and Caroline were downstairs, either talking to each other or to Rose, Damon wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry about Lexi, little brother." Damon told Stefan. Stefan nodded once but didn't answer.

"At least I didn't kill this Lexi!" He joked, regretting it after he'd said it because of the look Stefan gave him.

"Sorry." He said again, meaning it. Stefan nodded again.

"Grayson coming over here; Abby's driving him since she's got her license now." Stefan explained, running his hand through his hair. Damon nodded.

"Where's Elena?" Stefan asked the question that had been bugging him all night. Jeremy and Damon had come back to MysticFalls after vowing not to, without Elena. Something had happened, that much Stefan could guess.

"That's the problem… She's kind of… humanity less."

"She's been doing that off and on since Rose and Grayson were born." Stefan reminded him.

"Yeah, but this time, we tried everything to get her to turn it back on. Torture, threatening, good-cop-bad-cop… everything. We don't even know where she is anymore."

* * *

Elena Gilbert walked over to the Welcome to MysticFalls sign. She rolled her eyes.

"Mystic Falls and it's full of supernatural creatures. How creative." She heard someone crying nearby. She glanced around and then spotted a brunette girl with her head in her hands, crying. _Easy snack_, Elena thought to herself, smirking. But as she got closer, the brunette girl looked up at her and showed Elena her vampire face. They stared at each other for a minute, neither one of them moving. Finally, Elena spoke.

"Crying vampire doppelganger. My night just got a whole lot more complicated."

* * *

Back in the Salvatore boarding house, Lexi woke up with a gasp.

* * *

**A/N Okay, so in season 2, I will explain how Jeremy is supposed to be in his late thirties yet looks like he's still in his twenties. And no, he is not a vampire. In season 2, Lexi will be struggling with her new vampire status, most if not all of the parents will come back, Grayson, Will Saltzman, Abby Donovan and some of the other kids will play bigger roles and Elena and Susannah will both be the 'big bad guy' of the season, or at least most of it. I will post a little note here when I put up the first episode of the next season. **


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